Suddenly

Over a long career arc, electronic producer Dan Snaith took his Caribou project from sunny sample-core to more organic, psyche-tinged creations and beyond. His 2010 album Swim filtered his unique musical perspectives through a fascination with deep house music, and four years later Our Love delivered some of his more intimate and minimal sounds. Sixth studio album Suddenly picks up threads from both of these, pushing the dancefloor-ready style of Swim as well as Snaiths more softly drawn songwriting into colorful and fun new places. In the interim between Caribou studio albums, Snaith has focused on both an expanded, wildly different live configuration of the project and Daphni, a DJ-modelled offshoot of his production work. Suddenly seems informed by a DJ mindset, with Snaith building his songs around a curation of bright samples and unexpected production moves that would fit in a live DJ set. The subdued opener, Sister, is a spare introduction to the album, clearing the air before You and I picks up the pace and sets the tone for the rest of Suddenly. Beginning with live drums and a pulsing two-chord figure, You and I feels like a more synth-friendly indie rock song before unexpected electronic rhythms and samples erupt out of nowhere. Tracks like Ravi and Never Come Back return to the four-on-the-floor house rhythms of Swim, Snaiths falsetto vocals floating amid piano chords, dense percussion, and chopped samples. Throughout the album, Snaith stacks summery samples for the foundations of his wistful tunes. Kindhearted funk and harp samples make up Home, and a wobbly piano loop on Sunnys Time morphs into a barrage of chunky synths, horns, and fragmented rap samples, calling to mind the wildest of Prefuse 73s collage aesthetic. Suddenly is playful and sweet for its entirety. Even as Snaith jealously ponders an exs new partnership on Like I Loved You, any rejection or hurt that the song could convey is whisked away by hopeful melodies and endearingly out-of-place guitar noodling. The album continues developing the language that Caribou has been working on for years, branching out from the clubby spirit and melancholic reflection of recent albums for more lighthearted sonic atmospheres. ~ Fred Thomas

さまざまなメディアの年間ベストに選ばれた名盤『Our Love』のリリース後、ダフニ名義でのリリースはあったものの、カリブーとしては約5年ぶり待望の新作。エモくて温かみのある感涙モノの冒頭曲"Sister"は前作の延長線上にありますが、聴き進めればいままでの作品の中でいちばんヴァラエティーに富んだ内容だとわかります。2020年はまだ始まったばかりながら、本作もまた前作同様に年間ベストに選ばれるのは間違いない内容です。
bounce (C)長谷川義和