Caribou
Andorra

THE REVIEW

Andorra by Caribou was an album suitable for the summer that just flew by. So, make your peace with that. Listen to it anyway, if you like, but know that it is by no means an autumn album. There you go.

Describing it is a rather easy task, especially if the reader is familiar with the psychedelia of the late '60s, the surf-pop of the Beach Boys, and a certain taste for shoegazer/electronic-inspired experimentation. In fact, one of the first images that came to my mind was that of an archaeologist discovering this relic of Barrett-esque psychedelia in a remote archive, handing it over to a contemporary team of sound artisans and producers; who then work on it, adding layers upon layers of beats, samples, noise, synth carpets, effect-laden guitars, and unusual instruments. The references to the past, especially (as I mentioned) to Pink Floyd's The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, are numerous and identifiable in certain tracks in particular.
The first track, Melody Day, and the third, After Hours (not a cover of the famous Velvet Underground track), are as pink-floydian as one could conceive in 2007, especially with regard to the vocal melodies, that use of guitars that's never intrusive, but hypnotic and evocative, and that song structure that doesn’t limit itself to the verse-bridge-chorus routine, but offers new, continuous surprises: variations in the sonic blend, contrasting yet well-fitted figures, unusual endings, small strokes of genius. All of this, as I said, seasoned with a distinctly contemporary taste for electronics and the pursuit of fresh sounds. Listen, to believe, to the beautiful Irene: here, a simple melody entrusted to an ultra-minimal synth, accompanied by a basic beat, is drowned out by the noise of a TV that can't find the signal (yes, you get it: when there are black and white dots flashing). And for those who love new electronic dance floor sounds (a bit between Air and Daft Punk), there's the long Niobe, built on a multifaceted bed of beats and samples and tinkling-tuntun-fschhh of various kinds. An album suitable for the summer, indeed. Why? Because of a general relaxed, surf-like, slightly drunken atmosphere. Because of simple and catchy melodies, capable of displacing tons of crude summer hits from MTV. But we still listen to it, even in September. Because it deserves it.