Rating: NN
Dan Snaith’s second record under the Caribou moniker is more of the cerebral computer pop he’s been moving toward since 03’s Up In Flames. Named after a tiny Catalan country wedged between Spain and France, Andorra bursts out of the gate with the psyched-out Melody Day, a propulsive Pet Sounds track twirling with flutes and all the signature 60s sounds Snaith can cram in no moment is spared his obsessive sound layering.
The hypnotic Sandy continues the groove before a tripped-out After Hours cements the fact that Snaith has made a full-on drug record. It’s possible that Snaith, who composes records by holing up in his bedroom for a year, slipped into a Brian Wilson headspace at some point, but the good vibrations are missing here.
Andorra feels downhearted, often recalling Elliott Smith even on She’s The One, a collabo with Junior Boys’s Jeremy Greenspan, it sounds like she’s a real drag.
Caribou hits the Rivoli September 30.
