Caribou - Swim

Taylor's Choice:

Caribou - Swim

Hipster Review:

While mostly known for his previous work as a psychedelic pop craftsman, Caribou mastermind Dan Snaith saw it fit to evolve and push his art into uncharted waters. With Swim, Snaith delves deep into House and Dubstep territory, creating a strange breed of Dance music that is surrounded by a moody, emotive atmosphere. The results are spectacular, and the various musical textures flowing in each of the 9 songs make the record a feast for the ears. And the songs are all sequenced perfectly; it's clear that Snaith worked meticulously on each piece, making sure that everything fell into place in precisely the right way. The beginning track "Odessa" sets the mood perfectly, kicking off the album with a clubby yet abstractly-layered electronic jam. The rest of the record continues this pace, with song after song grooving together in a satisfying manner. Those who enjoy music with underlying layers of sound will be pleased with this; I've yet to hear another album this year as daring as Swim, and when Caribou dares, he succeeds. It is a record that, despite it's electronic nature, is full of heart and soul, and no doubt it's one of the best I've heard all year.

Hipster Rating:

8.8

Friend Review:

I’m just gonna go ahead and open this up with an apology to anyone who enjoyed this album. I know it wasn’t my thing, but it might yours, so, yeah, I dunno, whatever.
So as many, if not all, of our few readers know, I am not a fan of Animal Collective, in particular their album Strawberry Jam. You see, that was my first introduction to any electronic/experimental related music and I thought that was as bad as it could get. If there is one thing I have to thank Caribou for, it is that they make me want to give Animal Collective another chance now that I know that they are far from the worst.
My first occurrence with Caribou was when I noticed someone had posted a song by them on Taylor’s profile. Curious, I gave it a listen and was introduced to the horror that is “Jamelia”. I was then saddened to learn that Swim was the album Taylor would pick to be reviewed today. Nevertheless, I went into it with an open mind knowing that I have been proven wrong before. I heard the opening track “Odessa” and thought to myself, “Hey, not too bad, but not too great. It might be okay after all!” NOPE. After the high point that is the opening track and single of the album, everything is a downhill tumble into a bottomless pit o’ doom and gross things. This album screams to me, “Check out my beatz and noise, lol!” Repeating the word “Sun” for nearly six minutes with typical electronic music? Cool story bro. Every song sounds like Caribou took any random noise he could find, stuck it in a bag, and let the contents out for any listener to hear. Every song is too long, and every song sounds the same, just a mixture of electronic stuffing backed by cheesy house drum beats. There is nothing special about this album to separate it from any of the junk you can hear at any stuck-up fashion salon. I usually listen to an album once and then have it playing in the background while I write my review. For Swim, once is enough. It’s simply typical electronic and doesn’t leave any lasting effect on me besides weirded-outness. This is one of the worst albums I’ve ever listened to.

Friend Rating:

0.4

Coming up on Wednesday, Together by The New Pornographers!