Review Summary: Do without you
Honey is the type of album where if you don’t like the first 5 seconds, you might as well skip the whole thing. Opener “Broke My Heart” throws frantic light drums, syncopated chord stabs and an AI voice at you at 140+ BPM. It feels frantic and rushed, almost neurotic, until there is a drop with a rubbery UK Garage/Jungle style FM bass. What the opener starts, second track “Honey” perfects. With the same ingredients it builds a banger of a track, culminating in a drop somewhat reminiscent of Mr. Oizo’s Flat Beat.
These early elements define the narrow palate Dan Snaith is painting with throughout this Caribou album. Except for the ninth track, which takes a half-time approach, the rest of Honey keeps the same frenzied +- 130 BPM pace. Syncopated chord stabs, (AI) voices, and frantic light drums - augmented by simple and fast arpeggios - are the colors that Caribou paints this album with. The drops are only limited to the first two tracks though.
On past Caribou albums Dan displayed a rare knack for taking interesting turns from track to track - delighting you with unexpected hooks or samples. This made these albums engaging all the way trough. Unfortunately, this rare talent isn’t on display on Honey. That’s not to say the album isn’t engaging. Instead, the engagement comes from the sheer forward momentum Dan keeps up. We’re not taking any turns here, we’re barreling down the highway at full speed. Unfortunately, foregoing surprising hooks means there are no real earworms here - no “Can’t Do Without You”, “Home” or “You and I”.
That’s not to say there aren’t stand out tracks. “Honey”, “Climbing” and the closer “Got to Change” are excellent tracks. By contrast, the middle of the album lags. Tracks like “Volume”, “Do Without You” and “Come Find Me” feel interchangeable. They keep the momentum going though, until we briefly stop for gas on the calmer eight track “Campfire”. Honey then ends on a high note with the final trio of tracks.
Although it’s commendable that Dan Snaith is steering his project in a different direction, it’s hard not to miss what made his previous Caribou albums great. With Honey Caribou foregoes some of his main strengths and charm. Honey has its strong points, but overall it doesn’t scratch the itch his previous albums did.
