ISSUE #23
Suddenly
by Caribou
Suddenly is a bright, cloudless sky with intermittent wisps of gloom and foreboding amongst a backdrop of sunlit euphoria.
It's been over five years since Dan Snaith released Our Love in 2014 under his Caribou persona. Speaking for both Zach and myself: we've been ravenous for some new Caribou ever since the first time we heard the final measures of Your Love Will Set You Free. And now we can feast.
Suddenly represents Caribou's multi-faceted talent as an electronic musician. This album takes all the best bits 'n pieces that characterize his signature sounds and combines them to create a sonic mural. It's a mural that showcases the many styles, genres, and timbres that Snaith has played around with during the last 15 years of Caribou's existence.
The new album contains hints of wide-eyed innocence from Caribou’s debut album, The Milk of Human Kindness. It also has more kinetic vibes of house and techno similar to those found on Swim and Our Love. And there's even some tastes of hip-hop (as evident in Sunny's Time and New Jade), which is a very welcomed addition to Snaith's arsenal of sounds. It's Caribou true-to-form: playful, dynamic, comforting, and prevents you from sitting still. My only complaint is that for a 12-track album, it’s very short. There are a few tracks that could easily linger for a few more minutes and I’d be super okay with that.
Our favorite tracks include: New Jade, Sunny's Time, Never Come Back, and You and I. Each one showcases a distinct style constructed with such impressive mastery that it makes me question whether Dan Snaith is actually a human being. We don't deserve him!
Take a listen to Suddenly now and consider purchasing the album here! It seems like an upcoming Caribou tour is inevitable, so when we find out some more details we'll be sure to let you know.
Have a splendid weekend!
💎 Armando
Fluid Existential Inversions
by Intronaut
The 5th LP from LA’s finest cerebral explorers combines nearly two decades of sonic discipline into a heady and incredibly rewarding journey into the mind and beyond.
It’s been 3 albums and 9 years since I had the distinct pleasure of flinging my body about to the music of Intronaut during their supporting tour with Animals as Leaders, and the LA-based metal outfit has put forth easily their most pristine and crushing piece yet. Fluid Existential Inversions is a labor of love that treads the line between laser precision and rapturous chaos, blessed with Devin Townshend’s production expertise and the inhuman drumming skills of Alex Rudinger (ex- The Faceless).
As the title implies, psychedelia is a recurrent theme on the album, shaping lyrical content and the tones and textures employed throughout. Warping, bubbling bass nearly tricks the ear into imagining a synth on the first real track of the LP Cubensis - warped vocal samples open Procurement of the Victuals and Contrapasso, lending just enough eerie atmosphere to start blood in full circulation upon each mammoth opening riff. The latter track showcases a beautiful, haunting vocal harmony from guitarist/vocalists Sacha Dunable and Dave Timnick - it makes me think of early Jane’s Addiction and The Contortionist, but remains wholly unique set against an impossible spiraling staircase of technical riffcraft.
Left to right: David Timnick, Sacha Dunable, Joe Lester. Image courtesy of Metal Injection.
This album showcases Alex Rudinger’s rhythmic ninjitsu as he deftly weaves notes into every conceivable space and shift effortlessly from breakdown to breakbeat, soloing in the spaces between vocals and generally shrugging off the laws of physics. His presence is a godsend in multiple ways, as the band’s longtime drummer Danny Walker recently left amidst a domestic abuse scandal. I’ve seen Rudinger drum for The Faceless several times, and the man’s contribution to any group cannot be overstated.
Fluid Existential Inversions is dramatic: huge strings paint a red sky on Tripolar before a staggering, off-kilter rhythmic slog takes over. It’s beautiful: the instrumental bridge on Pangloss echoes through steep alabaster canyons of reverb, funky and psychedelic and elegant all at once. It’s brutal: The Cull drags you into a serrated swamp from the first second and does not let go.
Watching this band continually up the ante individually and as a group has been one of the more rewarding sagas of my metal fandom, and I can’t exaggerate how happy listening to this masterpiece makes me.
Keep it crunchy! 🤘 Zach
