• Record Label: Merge
  • Release Date: Aug 21, 2007
Metascore
83

Universal acclaim - based on 26 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 26
  2. Negative: 0 out of 26
  1. Entertainment Weekly
    91
    The only problem with this symphonic daydream is that at just nine songs and 43 minutes, it's over far too soon. [24 Aug 2007, p.130]
  2. Snaith’s newest album, Andorra, merges "Milk’s" heady sense of immediacy with a clear and consumable swiftness.
  3. In its journey from form to formlessness, the record feels like Caribou reaching back toward a primordial pool of sound.
  4. Andorra may be a bedroom record, but it certainly doesn't sound like a bedroom record; it has the energy and intensity of group participation, and that makes it Snaith's best yet.
  5. The Dr. of Mathematics has one-upped it with Andorra, keeping all of the earlier album's core sonic qualities while adding layers of heartfelt atmospherics to craft what is not only one of the most mesmerizing and unique albums of the year, but also one of the best.
  6. Andorra is a psychedelic and polyrhythmic trip to a place even less known than the actual country and a momentous addition to Caribou’s enviable discography.
  7. 84
    We still have a band trying to blow your mind with pure musicianship and experimentation, while having the balls to show restraint and even unabashed posie-sniffing beauty.
  8. Andorra will undoubtedly win Caribou a lot of new fans and rightfully so; it's a big, bold, tuneful collection that impresses with its ambition and meticulous arrangement.
  9. Consumed in a busy lounge or with a pair of headphones, this set is a safe bet for any listener.
  10. Despite its music-geek-pleasing period references and psychedelic density, this is ultimately a frothy pop record full of hopeful love songs.
  11. Although such swaths of varied, nebulous beauty obscure Snaith's musical core--if there is one--the music is so joyful in its rag and bone cherry-picking of the best of Britpop's history that such concerns are rendered pointless.
  12. Under The Radar
    80
    Andorra is an undeniably more coherent record than its predecessor. [Summer 2007, p.72]
  13. Andorra feels free and fresh, comfortable exploring its own sonic identity.
  14. The fourth album from Caribou is the sound of the summer we're only just getting round to enjoying.
  15. Andorra strikes out further, reaching deeper into Snaith’s box of musical curiosities which are, at once, tasteful and fruitfully tawdry. Phantasmagoric and stunningly organic, another crowd pleaser for fans of Daniel Snaith’s aural hallucinogens.
  16. Mojo
    80
    Andorra arrives in reverberant, sun-drenched spumes of falsetto vocals, crunching guitars, pulsating drums, jingling sleigh bells and fluttering flutes. [Sep 2007, p.109]
  17. This is the sort of album which is destined to be talked about in hushed tones by people who can remember exactly which improbably funky Manfred Mann tune it was that Kieran Hebden once put on a compilation. But it deserves a much wider audience than that.
  18. 80
    Andorra is, to use a phrase not heard much anymore, all killer, no filler.
  19. Pop formatting can be a tightrope, but Snaith walks it gracefully. The only component missing are notable lyrics, the words here just another sound in the mix--but that's hardly unusual for Snaith's writing, or even for a lot of music from the era he is referencing.
  20. It's pleasing, and sometimes outstanding, but it ultimately feels a bit too safe and soft.
  21. For every track that fails to coalesce, Andorra rolls out two more that hum with a peculiar sort of heart.

Awards & Rankings

User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 40 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 37 out of 40
  2. Negative: 0 out of 40
  1. PaulH.
    Jun 16, 2008
    10
    Extremely original sound by Dan Snaith...sophisticated harmonies, electronics and blend of vibrant sounds. Caribou gets stronger with every album.
  2. WesM.
    Aug 15, 2008
    10
    Elliott Smith's '60s sensibility/melancholia meets Four Tet experimental/electronica that somehow results in a synthesis both Elliott Smith's '60s sensibility/melancholia meets Four Tet experimental/electronica that somehow results in a synthesis both listenable and re-listenable. Full Review »
  3. BenM.
    Oct 30, 2007
    7
    "Melody Day" is definitely one of my favorite songs of the year, but after track one, I just kind of lose interest. There's a few more "Melody Day" is definitely one of my favorite songs of the year, but after track one, I just kind of lose interest. There's a few more good songs on here, but I thought this was finally going to be the album where I fully came around on Caribou. I still respect the guy and his production skills very much, and his albums all sound really great...but I'll have to try again next time. Full Review »