Caribou – Can’t do without you (Merge)

I've been a bit remiss with posting on new music lately so time for some favourite tunes from the past month or two. There's plenty to catch up on.

Dan Snaith returns as Caribou, after his great sideline under the name Daphni a couple of years ago. This is the lead track from new album Our love which comes out on October 7th, and in fact it takes up where Daphni left off.

That is to say - warm, bouncy house backbeats, a soothing bath of synths and soulful vocal samples. It's beautiful and builds a whole world, an entire narrative, emotional arc, into 4 minutes.

It comes out with an atmosphere of something like downbeat euphoria, which is an intriguing state of affairs to find yourself in on the dancefloor.

Here's the full album blurb.

You reach a point in life where the question of how to stay at the top of your game looms, with the only real solution being: you change the game. Our Love, the new album from Caribou, is the sound of Dan Snaith doing just that. Our Love, due October 7 on Merge Records, is the fifth studio album from Caribou.

Our Love is formed around a mixture of digital pop production, hip hop-inspired beats, muted house basslines, and a love of shuffling garage that can be traced all the way back to the time of Start Breaking My Heart – all of which are, of course, filtered through Dan’s own unique perspective. The warm analog sounds of classic soul should not be overlooked either, for they weave themselves most intensely into the record’s DNA. In fact, Our Love is probably Caribou’s most soulful record to date, with tracks like “Back Home” whose heartfelt lyrics – dealing in tired relationships and a weary kind of love – and organic nature cut through the bubbling synths and blissful euphoria of their synthetic constructions. It’s not all downbeat of course; while some thoughts linger on mortality, loss, and letting go, there is always an element of celebration.

Our Love features collaborations with Jessy Lanza and Owen Pallett.

And some tour dates.

Aug 15 Green Man Festival, Wales, United Kingdom
Aug 16 Jabberwocky Festival @ Excel Centre, London, United Kingdom
Nov 05 Vicar Street w/ Jessy Lanza, Dublin, Ireland