Caribou: Swim

Label: Merge

Me: longtime Caribou naysayer. Caribou: delivers Swim, the latest attempt by Dan Snaith to meld laptop means with pop ways. And you know what? I’m won over, to the point where I’m gonna go back to 2007’s Andorra as soon as I’m done telling you how good this album is. Swim is, in Snaith’s own telling, the most original piece of music he’s drummed up yet, a sparkling set of warmly organic pop numbers brought into the world via electronic means; it’s the kind of feat so many musicians (and critics) talk about, but I’m hard-pressed to think of anyone who’s done it better. The rhythms are all easy (as in, you’ll be swinging your hips around before you realize you’re doing it) and in full service of Caribou’s brightly chiming melodies — but his inventiveness lies on the electronics side as well: Dig “Bowls,” a track that opens up with a muffled but insistent 4/4 beat and soft metal clangs before a few ample guitar strums open up new vistas in techno-pop. It’s really so hard to dislike, so easy on the ears, and so rewarding at the same time. Plenty of similarly eye-opening moments await; c’mon in, the water’s great. (Double LP includes digital download.) (M.L. Thrope)