Over the past two decades, Dan Snaith has worked on transforming Caribou from a two-kit, kaleidoscopic, freak folk project into an electro-pop act. On his album, Suddenly, this transformation is fully realized. The clangs, crashes, and general messy noise that defines Up in Flames has been polished down into fast, neat, house music, and though stylistically different, Caribou has never sounded better. The pulsing beats and groove-based samples found on Suddenly breathe life into the album, giving it a warm, animated feel, and the tight club tracks elicit feelings of pure joy. Highlights include singles Home and Never Come Back, but late-album gem, Ravi, is another standout. It's all wonderful, really, and warrants not just one, but a number of listens this week.
- Nathan Yoder