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By: Karl-Erik Stromsta
Canadian DJ sensation Caribou desperately wants his fourth album, Andorra (Merge), to be a bizarre and challenging listening experience. On that count, he failed miserably. Instead of raising eyebrows with its aggressive avant-gardism, Andorra comes off as one of the most instantly listenable electronica albums of the year. Which isn't to say it isn't filled with weirdness aplenty. From the very first track, Caribou makes it clear that he isn't here to make cheap dance tunes – he's here to make art. Each track is stuffed with contrast and musical non-sequiturs. Haywire drum machines compete with psychedelic yodels, trombones and music boxes for your ears' affection. Yet somehow, the result is brilliant and original – lush pop symphonies, block-rocking lullabies, Ritalin-fed folk ramblings. From time to time – in between whirling glockenspiels and Pac-Man bleeps – the forced oddness gets to be a bit much. Luckily, Caribou's ear for melody and cohesion is too powerful to be overridden for long, so even when Andorra is being difficult it's impossible not to love.
JamBase | Manitoba
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