Caribou - Honey (Limited Edition on Yellow Vinyl)

After the introspective and eclectic sonics of Suddenly, Dan Snaith was ready for some euphoric dancefloor energy. His 2022 album as Daphni, Cherry, provided this in spades with buoyant and enchanting rhythm focussed experiments. Two years later, the itch for that joy and fervour hasn’t dissipated in the slightest. Now paired with Snaith’s songwriting skills as Caribou, his latest album Honey cements his current era in the club circuit.

Like the glitter adorning the cover, there’s a lot of high end sparkle to this album. Amidst zigzagging arpeggios and frazzled detuned chords are glitzy and glamorous synth-pop numbers, glitchy interludes, and stuttering techno workouts. ‘Broke My Heart’ bustles in with a four to the floor garage rhythm, veering on two step as the track plummets from its zipping strings to a razed and ravaging dubstep bassline. A menacing kind of sound approached with bubblegum flavour, topped with lyrics on love and loss gently, smoothly infused with helium. With Snaith’s goal of “pulling himself away” for music “available to everybody”, it’s moments like this that highlight Honey’s universal themes anyone can dance to.

Those moody basslines continue on the title track, with bossy sirens melting the sensual vocal hook alongside sparking details and climbing, trilling synths. ‘Volume’ scattered vocal samples and clanging bell synths across patient percussive slams, layering up the track’s intrigue, while ‘Come Find Me’ bursts with a huge festival house sounds, crispy found sound percussion and gushing synth surges. As Snaith morphs his vocals to explore other characters and voices across Honey, he reaches some real highs on ‘Do Without You’, a microcosm of the album with heartfelt, angsty lyrics and emotive swells amplified through vigorous beats and dynamic analogue synth patterns.