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CRITIC REVIEWS
100
From so many distinct elements, to create something so coherent and so individual is quite some achievement. Dan Snaith's unique craft has been well honed.
100
Dan Snaith’s project returns after five years away to confront grief and family, beautifully warping songs that are drenched in melody.
90
What makes the album so spectacular, though, is Snaith’s voice.
90
With Our Love, Caribou set a high bar for his next album. Thankfully Suddenly is a release that gleefully jumps over that bar, managing to deliver more of what fans have come to expect while also allowing Snaith to move in new directions.
90
Suddenly is a fresh perspective shift that encourages listeners to examine the bigger forces at play that act as a catalyst for change.
90
Suddenly finds Snaith in his element, writing beautifully endearing tunes and setting them to multi-layered production in a way only he can, and the results are spectacular.
90
He remains one of the best in the game, and his seventh record puts his diverse range on display, inviting both quiet contemplation and life-affirming celebration.
85
Coupled with some of the loosest, most pop-minded production of Snaith’s career, Suddenly becomes a glimmer of optimism, immaculate music for communal grief and celebration. In that, it’s the most vital album of his career.
85
While Suddenly’s highlight tracks buzz with upbeat glamour, Snaith is smart enough to tone a portion of the LP with their contrasts.
82
Dan Snaith’s latest is as sly and layered as ever, but he finds ways to be more direct with his songwriting. There are no bum notes, no wasted motions, no corners of the audio spectrum left untouched.
81
The excellent seventh studio album from Canadian Dan Snaith proves once more that he is operating at a level unlike most. Caribou's latest is perhaps his finest, and most danceable, in many years.
80
Suddenly isn't his strongest work—and at times it indirectly anthologies his entire oeuvre—but it does solidify his place as a thinking person's electronic artist who injects meaning and empathy into his music above all else.
80
Suddenly is a great album, full of great songs and excellent musicianship.
80
Suddenly is a dense, complex piece of work that’s already shifted shape in the few days I’ve spent with it.
80
Suddenly is at its best when blending head, heart and feet to make another smart party album – among Caribou’s best yet.
80
Suddenly shuttles between grown-up pop and sample-driven dancefloor tunes full of his trademark unpredictable turns.
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2y
80
Dazzling in both scope and detail, Suddenly unscrolls like a mysterious tapestry.
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2y
80
Dan Snaith packs a triple-LP worth of twisted disco, sample-drunk collage, and psychedelic warmth into a 45-minute thrill ride.
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2y
80
If anyone is still clinging stubbornly to their belief that electronic dance-pop lacks soul, these 12 luminous and inventive songs of a universally connective bent will surely haul them over the line.
80
The album continues developing the language that Caribou has been working on for years, branching out from the clubby spirit and melancholic reflection of recent albums for more lighthearted sonic atmospheres.
80
Suddenly is Caribou's most willfully experimental album to date, his soft, distinctive vocals flow through every track, binding the whole thing together.
80
Across Suddenly, Snaith surrenders to the current. If you do, too, you’ll find a rich and rewarding listening experience.
80
As beautiful as it is exciting, Suddenly is an uplifting album that embraces the change and shifting perspectives that life throws our way.
80
The more experimental and unsettling elements will reward longtime stans, while recent converts will be just as thrilled with its party-starting exuberance.
80
‘Suddenly’ is a treat and continues Caribou's knack of releasing albums that are both accessible and explorative.
80
Delightfully nuanced with an innovative sonic make-up and very real human heart; ‘Suddenly’ offers itself up as the safe place we all crave when things get a little too much to bear.
80
A record where Snaith has laid himself bare. The result is his richest, strangest album yet.
80
On Caribou's seventh album, Dan Snaith finds his voice and brings his experimental side to the fore without sacrificing his perfectly lush melodies.
80
An album that’s as complex and compelling as anything he’s ever made and while it doesn’t provide the instant gratification of its predecessors, Suddenly still has that intangible quality that’s characterised every Caribou album to date.
75
Snaith synthesizes numerous elements and styles into a cohesive whole without losing the individual flavors of the reference points that inform him.
75
Suddenly is a project laced, in almost every aspect, with these themes of change, upheaval, and humanity's insatiable appetite for progression.
70
While Suddenly is all a bit faint in typical Caribou fashion, it's nevertheless a sweet and heartfelt helping of indietronica.
60
It can feel a little lacking in direction – honed down from more than 900 home experiments, it’s eclectic almost to a fault, though there’s enough to treasure among its dreamy meanderings.
I'm not a big fan of electronic music, but Suddenly arrives like a real ray of sunshine to brighten up my day, especially because Caribou arrives with a disconcerting ease to offer a pure, luminous and terribly efficient music, totally summing up the extent of his talent
Usually, an "easy access" music is not often a good sign, since its value starts again as quickly as it charmed you at the beginning, yet Caribou has achieved some quite strong things, offering at the same time a ... read more
The heart of the wave.
With his seventh album, "Suddenly", hemmed in with distorted synths, less flashy and more tormented than ever, the Canadian producer Dan Snaith intends to echo a complicated era. To the point of worrying about his carbon footprint.
Sometimes, life catches you off guard. It tells you via Skype about the death of a relative who was doing so well. It's the election of a delusional political outsider that everyone swears he was going to lose. It gives birth to ... read more
"Suddenly" is a commendable effort with a sound I've been itching for. The writing and lyrics aren't anything amazing and there are a couple of times where the mixing is a bit off, but everything else is creatively executed. The sampling on here is excellent, the tracks are catchy and the overall album is pretty consistent.
Fav Tracks: Ravi, Home, You and I, Never Come Back, New Jade, Lime, Magpie
Least Fav Track: Sister
Score:
8.7
Exceptional
Caribou's fifth release presents an intricately produced, hypnotic soundscape that is full of sonic flavour. Bouncy and energetic, or relaxing more into a smoother, melancholic style, Suddenly is a great collection of tracks that's worth a listen. A personal favourite is 'Sunny's Time' which features, at first listen, an odd and out-of-place vocal performance, but it's actually great! Others include 'Lime', 'New Jade', and 'Ravi', and I want to spend a lot more time with 'Cloud Song'.
Between ... read more
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Track List
| 1 | Sister 2:11 | 77 |
| 2 | You and I 4:03 | 85 |
| 3 | Sunny's Time 2:49 | 81 |
| 4 | New Jade 3:37 | 83 |
| 5 | Home 2:36 | 73 |
| 6 | Lime 2:55 | 78 |
| 7 | Never Come Back 5:05 | 86 |
| 8 | Filtered Grand Piano 0:53 | 67 |
| 9 | Like I Loved You 4:05 | 78 |
| 10 | Magpie 3:55 | 76 |
| 11 | Ravi 4:29 | 80 |
| 12 | Cloud Song 6:50 | 78 |
Total Length: 43 minutes
Year End Lists
| #5 | / | Exclaim! |
| #5 | / | Magnetic |
| #5 | / | SPIN |
| #6 | / | Gothamist |
| #7 | / | Esquire (UK) |
| #10 | / | Gaffa (Sweden) |
| #11 | / | Paste |
| #14 | / | musicOMH |
| #15 | / | MondoSonoro |
| #15 | / | OOR |
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Added on: December 4, 2019