Dan Snaith is a Canadian house wizard. With a doctorate in mathematics from Imperial College of London, and as the son of a math professor, he had an uphill battle convincing his parents he could earn a living making music. His lo-fi, DIY psychedelia on 2003's Up in Flames spawned a successful cult following. Since then, under the moniker Caribou, he has taken his compositions to ultra-deluxe places, and Suddenly might be his best record yet.
Six years after Our Love’s high gloss takes on house, hip-hop, and garage, Snaith continues to smother his music with strangely reassuring and soulful earworms. His incredible ear for production emphasizes every drum beat or hi-hat, resulting in a maximalist headphone experience. His affability also engenders a deep connection to his listeners, especially here as his honeyed falsetto results in the finest singing of his career. Though his lyrics address his family's recent struggles, you might miss them initially because of the songs’ playful exuberance.
He seemingly repurposes a lost Scandinavian electro-pop hit from the early ‘90s on “Never Come Back." He splices a woman’s voice to serve as the backbeat for a trippy R&B bouncer on "New Jade." He sings about losing someone close while a bed of dreamy synths provides melancholic uplift on "You and I": you can take your place in the sky / I will find a way to carry on down here. He gradually transforms "Magpie" from bedroom pop into a well of sadness, while he chases the blues away on “Ravi” with lilting, disembodied vocals and his simple closing words: It’s always better when I’m with you / And you hold me like you used to do.
On centerpiece single, “Home,” Snaith cuts up little-known R&B 70’s singer Gloria Barnes’ expressive vocals (“Baby, I’m home, I’m home”) into a deeply inviting refrain, recalling the creative use of his Marvin Gaye sample from his mesmerizing 2014 track “Can’t Do Without You.” The result is a song that sounds simultaneously fresh and well-worn, the kind of heady warmth that is increasingly Caribou’s impressive ply and trade.
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