Earlier this week, I got the preorder of Caribou‘s (nee Manitoba) new album and it immediately bumped the new Grimes off the turntable. I’m sure I’ll come back to her, but I can’t stop listening to Suddenly.

When I first heard Manitoba at a listening station at Tower Records I knew I’d discovered something special. The opening strains of “I’ve Lived on a Dirt Road All My Life” — the tuning notes of a drunk electronic symphony— the song stumbles its way toward bombast, building with each stanza. I nearly lost my mind. I listened to that CD non-stop that year.

The directness of Andorra nearly lost me. I had fallen in love with a twitchy, gorgeous, festival of big beats and quiet, glitchy interludes.

While I’ve enjoyed every album Caribou has released, there’s something about Suddenly that has returned me to the pulpit filled with the spirit and ready to preach the glory of Caribou.

This week has been complete shit, but I’ve nearly made it through in no small part to this album being in my life.

Here’s a list of some of my favorite tracks from over the years—a cliff’s notes version of why Caribou is on my GOAT list.

Suddenly comes out February 28.  I ordered my vinyl from Bandcamp.

 

PS: I still haven’t figured out a service that lets me embed playlists that are listenable without registration.  The closest I’ve come is mixcloud, but it’s a LOT of work to make a proper mix. I’m open to any suggestions that pay royalties to artists.