There are many kinds of electronic music. For starters, there is good electronic and bad electronic. One thing that usually sets the two apart is what the sound is informed by. Bad electronic strives to fill space, live as background music, and gently pound the ears of Armani Exchange patrons. Good electronic understands that it comes from somewhere, and in one form or another reflects that background without simply being derivative. There is electronic that comes from a hip-hop place. Alias is a good example of that. Some electronic is based out a house/techno/dance music background, like Lemon Jelly. Ambient can be a starting point for some electronic, as in the case of Apparat. You also have someone like DJ Nobody , who melds his love for the Beach Boys and 60s psychedelia with all of the above.

And then there’s Caribou. Organic, warm, blissful… This is the new record, Andorra, an electronic album that doesn’t sound electronic, and yet clearly is. The instrumentation is not 808 kicks and virtual synths. There are guitars, strings, real drums, and live vocals, none of which are typical of this genre. It has an ethereal quality without being airy, and a psych sound more reminiscent of Broadcast than the usual 60s fare that so often gets sampled in electronic music. It also shows growth from Dan Snaith, the mastermind of Caribou, and shows that he is an artist who is exploring and evolving.

Andorra is due out on August 21 from Merge Records. Until then, enjoy “Melody Day”, the first single from it. And keep an ear out for a terrific remix from Four Tet.

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If you enjoy these tunes, tune into my radio show on kxlu 88.9fm 10a-2p every monday. we’re also streaming live at www.kxlu.com.