Length 41:53 Artist Dan Snaith Producer Dan Snaith | Label City Slang
Merge Release date 6 October 2014 Genre House music | |
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Released October 6, 2014 (2014-10-06) Awards Juno Award for Electronic Album of the Year Similar Swim, Jiaolong, The Milk of Human Kindness, Start Breaking My Heart, Born in the Echoes | ||
Caribou can t do without you
Our Love is the seventh album by Canadian mathematician and composer Dan Snaith, released on October 6, 2014 by City Slang worldwide and October 7, 2014 by Merge in North America and South America. It is Snaith's fourth album credited under the moniker Caribou, reverting to the pseudonym after the release of his previous album, Jiaolong, under Daphni in 2012. It features guest collaborations from Jessy Lanza and Owen Pallett.
Contents
The album, from Snaith's viewpoint, reflects upon the acclaimed success of his breakthrough and varied effort, Swim, four years ago. Snaith also admitted that the album would be more personal and reflective lyrically than every album prior to the release of Our Love, with the birth of his daughter being a critical reason. Although it is composed in a more electronic composition, the album is also influenced by R&B and hip hop.
Following the less positive reception of Jiaolong, Our Love debuted to critical acclaim from critics, with some praising its subtle composition and thematic material. 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. Commercially, the album peaked at #46 on the Billboard 200 and #8 on the UK Albums Chart.
Production
The album's title was a reflection of the success Snaith received after the release of Swim. Describing the inspiration for Our Love, Snaith said "[T]he 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." The album features contributions from Jessy Lanza and Owen Pallett.
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." Snaith cited the birth of his daughter as a major reason for the more personal lyrics.
Release
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. A music video for "Our Love," directed by Ryan Staake, was released on October 7, 2014. As of 2016, "Can't Do Without You" is regularly featured in the bumper music rotation on The Rush Limbaugh Show.
Reception
Our Love received critical acclaim from music critics. On Metacritic, the album has a Metascore of 84 based on 33 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim." Alexis Petridis of The Guardian praised the album as "rich, strange, endlessly fascinating music" and "a subtle, beautiful triumph." Pitchfork Media's Jamieson Cox gave the album a "Best New Music" designation and called it "a very assured record, from its unconventional, austere arrangements to its unrelenting focus and thematic consistency." 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." Drowned in Sound's Alex Baker said that while the album "lacks the element of surprise that Swim had," Our Love "still holds in abundance all the hallmarks of a master: so rich, so textured and despite being predominantly electronic, so human."
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. 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."
Accolades
Our Love appeared on numerous end-of-year charts. 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." 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." The album was also nominated to the 2015 Polaris Music Prize shortlist.
Personnel
Credits adapted from AllMusic.
Songs
1Can't Do Without You3:57
2Silver5:17
3All I Ever Need3:53