On more than one occasion I’ve seen my wife climb into a pair of shoes that looked fantastic but were clearly uncomfortable. And after a long day of immense pain, she pulls these twin torture devices from her feet with relief, and asks herself was it worth it?
This is basically what listening to Caribou’s Swim is akin too.
We start comfortably enough with opening track Odessa and its perfect blend of trashy glam and bubble gum pop, the kind you would hear in any Brooklyn club. With wispy vocals and Daft Punk pianos, Odessa starts things off on a high note. Sadly, the rest of the album never quite achieves it again. After that the feet start to cramp and the shoes start to pinch.
Second track Sun is repetitive and annoying with Caribou repeating the word Sun incessantly and as the blisters set in, you’re suddenly starting to regret your choice. But then by track 3 (Kali) we’re back to this infectious dozy dance-pop and you continue on.
And this is how the rest of the album progresses, leap-frogging between catchy numbers and horribly forgettable ones. For whatever reason your forced to pay the penance of suffering through one boring song before getting to the enjoyable (if not interesting) one.
This is a tough album to love. Hell, this is a tough album to like – at all. Frankly it’s too much work and the payoff is never all that satisfying. Most of the songs feel half done and aimless while the few remaining tracks give you the faint hope things are going to get better.
They don’t.
There are some solid songs on their own (the aforementioned Odessa and Found Out) but buried amongst Swim’s other tracks, it’s just not worth rummaging around to find them.
I wouldn’t go as far as saying this was a bad album, but it sure isn’t one you’ll instantly love. It’s going to take a few listens. And by the time you’re done listening and start rubbing those blisters, you’ll think was it worth it?
The answer is probably not.
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