Our Love (Caribou album)

Summary

Our Love is the seventh studio album by Canadian musician Dan Snaith, released under the moniker Caribou on October 6, 2014 by City Slang worldwide and October 7, 2014 by Merge in North America and South America.[1] It is Snaith's fourth album as Caribou, having released his previous album, Jiaolong, as Daphni in 2012. It features collaborations with Jessy Lanza and Owen Pallett.

Our Love
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 6, 2014 (2014-10-06)
Genre
Length41:53
Label
ProducerDan Snaith
Caribou chronology
Jiaolong
(2012)
Our Love
(2014)
Suddenly
(2020)
Singles from Our Love
  1. "Can't Do Without You"
    Released: June 3, 2014

The album reflects on the success of Snaith's breakthrough album, Swim, four years prior. The lyrics are more personal and reflective than his previous albums, influenced by the birth of his daughter. It is an electronic album with R&B and hip hop influences.

Following the less positive reception of Jiaolong, Our Love debuted to critical acclaim, with praise for its subtle composition and themes. The album appeared on numerous end-of-year lists, was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards and was shortlisted for the 2015 Polaris Music Prize. It peaked at #46 on the Billboard 200 and #8 on the UK Albums Chart.

Production edit

The album title reflects the success of Swim.[2] Snaith said "the primary impulse on this record was to make something that was generous in the sense that it was for everybody, not just for me locked in a studio by myself."[3] The album features contributions from Jessy Lanza and Owen Pallett.[4]

Our Love contains R&B and hip hop influences. Snaith described the lyrics as being more personal compared to previous Caribou releases, saying "Part of it's just getting older and being more reflective, thinking, 'What is it that I want to have in my music when I look back on it? What are the things that matter to me?' And they are clichéd things: the love in my life, whether that be my family or my friends."[4] Snaith cited the birth of his daughter as a major reason for the more personal lyrics.[3]

Release edit

The album's first single, "Can't Do Without You", was made available for free online on June 3, followed by "Our Love" on August 18, 2014.[1][5] A music video for "Our Love", directed by Ryan Staake, was released on October 7, 2014.[6]

Reception edit

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.0/10[7]
Metacritic84/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [9]
The Daily Telegraph     [10]
The Guardian     [11]
Mixmag4/5[12]
Mojo     [13]
NME9/10[14]
Pitchfork8.6/10[15]
Q     [16]
Rolling Stone     [17]
Uncut9/10[18]

On Metacritic, Our Love has a Metascore of 84 based on 33 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[8] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian praised the album as "rich, strange, endlessly fascinating music" and "a subtle, beautiful triumph."[11] Pitchfork's Jamieson Cox chose the album as that week's "Best New Music" and called it "a very assured record, from its unconventional, austere arrangements to its unrelenting focus and thematic consistency."[15] Fred Thomas of AllMusic wrote that Our Love "stands as the most straightforwardly danceable Caribou album to date, but holds on to both the experimental bent and composition-minded musicality that helped build the project's one-of-a-kind sound world."[9] Drowned in Sound's Alex Baker said that while the album "lacks the element of surprise that Swim had," Our Love "holds in abundance all the hallmarks of a master: so rich, so textured and despite being predominantly electronic, so human."[19]

In a mixed review, Andrew Ryce of Resident Advisor called Our Love "a grower" and wrote that he had "come to appreciate its nuanced production, even on songs that initially fell flat," but nonetheless felt underwhelmed.[20] Slant Magazine's Jesse Cataldo criticized the album's "dreary" sound, writing that the album lacked "the nervous energy and addictive grooves of 2010's Swim or the sample-based bounciness of Snaith's recent side project, Daphni."[21]

Accolades edit

Our Love appeared on numerous end-of-year charts.[22] Consequence of Sound ranked the album at number five on their list of the top 50 albums of 2014, writing "As the world goes electronic, artists must work even harder to maintain the humanity that brings so many people together through music. Our Love is proof that artists can adopt timeless dance floor tactics without losing themselves in the hysteria."[23] The Guardian also ranked the album at number five on their end-of-year list, writing "Our Love ran far deeper than most dance records, exploring the complexities of adult relationships: new fatherhood, friends' divorces and even death."[24] The album was nominated for the 2015 Polaris Music Prize shortlist.[25]

Track listing edit

All tracks are written by Dan Snaith, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Can't Do Without You" 3:56
2."Silver" 5:16
3."All I Ever Need" 3:52
4."Our Love" 5:34
5."Dive" 2:06
6."Second Chance"4:00
7."Julia Brightly" 2:03
8."Mars" 5:45
9."Back Home" 3:33
10."Your Love Will Set You Free"5:47
Total length:41:53
Expanded edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Can't Do Without You" (Extended Mix) 6:34
12."Your Love Will Set You Free" (C2's Set U Free Remix)
  • Snaith
  • Pallett
6:42
13."Second Chance" (Cyril Hahn Edit)
  • Snaith
  • Lanza
4:46
14."Mars" (Head High's Core Remix) 4:54
15."Mars" (Head High's Venus Remix) 5:39
16."Our Love" (Daphni Remix) 7:08
17."Can't Do Without You" (Tale of Us & Mano Le Tough Remix) 7:37

Personnel edit

Credits adapted from AllMusic.[26]

  • Matthew Cooper – design
  • Jason Evans – art direction, design, photography
  • Bo Kondren – mastering
  • Jessy Lanza – composition, vocals
  • Owen Pallett – composition, viola, violin
  • Dan Snaith – composition, production
  • David Wrench – mixing

Charts edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Gordon, Jeremy (June 3, 2014). "Caribou Announces New Album Our Love, Shares "Can't Do Without You", Tours". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  2. ^ Yoshida, Emily (October 6, 2014). "Q&A: Caribou's Dan Snaith on 'Our Love' and Embracing Emotional Dance Music". Grantland. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  3. ^ a b Lindsay, Cam (October 6, 2014). "Dan Snaith of Caribou Wants to Minimize the Distance Between Him and the Listener". Noisey. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  4. ^ a b Bulut, Selim (October 2, 2014). "Caribou interview: "The love in my life."". Dummy Mag. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  5. ^ Minsker, Evan (August 18, 2014). "Caribou Shares "Our Love"". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  6. ^ Phillips, Amy (October 7, 2014). "Caribou Shares "Our Love" Video". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  7. ^ "Our Love by Caribou reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  8. ^ a b "Reviews for Our Love by Caribou". Metacritic. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  9. ^ a b Thomas, Fred. "Our Love – Caribou". AllMusic. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  10. ^ Brown, Helen (October 21, 2014). "Caribou, Our Love, review: 'intricate'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  11. ^ a b Petridis, Alexis (October 2, 2014). "Caribou – Our Love review: spellbindingly ambiguous, endlessly fascinating electronica". The Guardian. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  12. ^ Abbott, Jeremy (September 18, 2014). "Caribou". Mixmag. Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  13. ^ "Caribou: Our Love". Mojo (252): 89. November 2014.
  14. ^ Sheffield, Hazel (October 3, 2014). "Caribou – 'Our Love'". NME. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  15. ^ a b Cox, Jamieson (October 7, 2014). "Caribou: Our Love". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  16. ^ "Caribou: Our Love". Q (340): 105. November 2014.
  17. ^ Hermes, Will (October 7, 2014). "Our Love". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  18. ^ "Caribou: Our Love". Uncut (210): 71. November 2014.
  19. ^ Baker, Alex (October 3, 2014). "Album Review: Caribou – Our Love". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  20. ^ Ryce, Andrew (October 7, 2014). "Caribou – Our Love". Resident Advisor. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  21. ^ Cataldo, Jesse (October 3, 2014). "Caribou: Our Love". Slant Magazine. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  22. ^ "Best of 2014: Music Critic Top Ten Lists". Metacritic. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  23. ^ "Top 50 Albums of 2014". Consequence of Sound. December 12, 2014. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  24. ^ Hutchinson, Kate (December 8, 2014). "Best albums of 2014: No 5 – Our Love by Caribou". The Guardian. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  25. ^ "2015 Polaris Music Prize Short List Is Here". Polaris Music Prize. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  26. ^ "Our Love – Caribou (Credits)". AllMusic. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  27. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Caribou – Our Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  28. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Caribou – Our Love" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  29. ^ "Ultratop.be – Caribou – Our Love" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  30. ^ "Ultratop.be – Caribou – Our Love" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  31. ^ "Caribou Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  32. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Caribou – Our Love" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  33. ^ "Lescharts.com – Caribou – Our Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  34. ^ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  35. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Caribou – Our Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  36. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  37. ^ "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  38. ^ "Caribou Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  39. ^ "Caribou Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  40. ^ "Caribou Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  41. ^ "Caribou Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  42. ^ "Top Dance/Electronic Albums – Year-End 2015". Billboard. Retrieved June 12, 2020.

External links edit

  • Our Love at Discogs (list of releases)