Caribou | The Milk of Human Kindness (Domino)

 

With no prior knowledge, if you heard that there was a band whose name was Manitoba that changed their name to Caribou, what would you expect that band to sound like? The names conjure images of the Great White North, of desolate tundra covered with grass dried brown by the bitter cold and scattered evergreen trees. Certainly doesn’t sound like anything you would want to listen to just as spring is starting, does it?

 

Name notwithstanding, Caribou is a pleasantly warm listen. On The Milk of Human Kindness, his first album since the name change (necessitated by a lawsuit from punk rock legend Handsome Dick Manitoba of the Dictators), one-man-band Dan Snaith leaves behind the shimmering psychedelia of 2003’s Up In Flames for a more focused, natural sound. The longer songs ride on bubbly, pulsating beats, with other sounds fading in and out like cars passing by on the other side of a long, winding highway. The seven-minute “A Final Warning”, in particular, is a warm, organic track that sucks the listener into its light, airy world with ease, and the boogie groove that anchors “Bees” is a delightful throwback to 70’s AOR like Canned Heat.

 

Unfortunately, Snaith can also reach too far at times. The songs that try to pick up the album’s very deliberate pace are quite jarring, and the two RZA inspired hip-hop-flavored tracks, “Lord Leopard” and “Pelican Narrows,” feel completely out of place. Fortunately, the failed experiments are few and far between, with the driving single “Yeti” in particular getting things off on the right foot. Snaith’s voice is a secret weapon, a quiet but effective murmur (think Luna’s Dean Wareham on Quaaludes) used on only five of the album’s songs. Not surprisingly, these songs are when Caribou really shines.

 

It’s difficult to immerse oneself completely in this record; the momentum shifts constantly, and the lyrics are suggestive but far from straightforward – other than song titles that almost all mention some sort of animal, an overall theme to the album isn’t forthcoming. But perhaps that’s the point. The more mellow tracks give the listeners a sea of shimmering melodies to explore, while the riskier, noisier tracks are a tip of the hat to Snaith’s more adventurous followers. The Milk of Human Kindness is a challenging but ultimately very fulfilling record that is well worth seeking out. | Jason Green