Caribou – Honey
Honey's combination of club beats and AI-boosted vocals is technically dazzling, but lacking in depth
The creep of AI into the arts has gathered pace recently, but it's rare to see a somewhat mainstream artist incorporate it as prominently as Dan Snaith has on Honey. For someone who has embraced restless creative impulses as a mission statement from day one, it's perhaps not surprising. But while this aspect of the album may draw attention, the reliably impressive arrangements are what keep it grounded in the consistent lineage of Caribou.
The overall sonic blueprint owes more than a little to Snaith's more DJ-minded alias Daphni: the crisp drum programming of Broke My Heart, the wobbly dubstep of the title track that hasn't been in fashion since the days of Caspa & Rusko, the bubbling crescendo of closer Got To Change.
The robotic effect of the AI-manipulated vocals on songs like Come Find Me and Do Without You detracts from the excellent synth programming, sometimes akin to the anonymous vocals of 90s club hits that provided texture rather than insight. Caribou has always trucked in simple statements and repetition (Sun, Can't Do Without You, even the recent ad nauseam You Can Do It), but these vocals don't have the warmth that you could always feel in the past thanks to Snaith's organic melding of words and music.
Ultimately Honey is one of the more interesting experiments in the use of AI, but in this case it feels like a watering down of emotional impact from an artist who has never had an issue when it comes to capturing hearts and moving bodies.
Listen to: Over Now, Honey