Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Caribou - She's The One

Caribou

Caribou, "She's The One (Hot Chip remix)" (YSI link)

Caribou, "She's The One (Kelley Polar's Hughes Wilson Prom Night In Hell version" (YSI link)

Not sure why, but I feel a little melancholy today. Blame it on the weather, the unread emails from an ex or just being me. I'm not sure if Dan Snaith's music as Caribou is good for me right now or if it just makes me a little bluer, but when the music is this beautiful and essential, I just need to get over myself.

"She's The One" is the first single off of the 2007 Andorra album and one of the best songs of the past year. It combines that psychedelic pop sound perfectly with lyrics about love and that one girl. It's just the type of song I love, a dark love song about heartbreak and love lost and moving on. "Every night there's a new name on her mind that I don't think I recognize/
and it's never strange just how long she stays away, I guess I'll have to compromise." Not surprisingly, this one was co-written by Jeremy Greenspan of Pound for Pound favorite Junior Boys, who do this sort of music perfectly. Anyway, if you have not bought the LP, do not hesitate in buying your copy today.

The label came up with two interesting choices for remixers, Hot Chip and Environ's Kelley Polar. Hot Chip have added a beat to the mix, stretched it out by double and added two almost-euphoric breakdowns. The first is slower and more deliberate, the second is a little more of freak-out to close things out. Definitely somthing different from the guys, not my favorite. While everyone is probably going to gravitate towards the Hot Chip remix, the real treat is the one by Kelley Polar. This one has to be heard, as Polar has turned the original into a spoken word experimental disco track. There's amazing soaring harmonies, sweeping strings, claps and off-key chords, it sounds like nothing you've heard in quite a while. The best guidepost I can say is to think back to the late 70s, early 80s when guys like Arthur Russell brought the avant-garde to the dancefloor. I'm really liking this one,

I highly recommend grabbing one of the copies of the 12" before they are gone, as you won't want to miss a chance to have the original and the additional new track, "Niobe." You won't be disappointed.

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