Ontario-based Caribou recently left his longtime home at Leaf to join Durham, North Carolina’s Merge Records, and is preparing to release both a new EP and full-length, Andorra, of his Kraut- and psych-rock-hybrid sounds later this year.

It seems this new album blossomed from what’s an all-too-common syndrome among artists these days–burnout. After an extensive 135-date tour supporting his 2005 release, The Milk of Human Kindness, Caribou main man Dan Snaith finally succumbed to some much-needed R&R. And, of course, it was during this time that Andorra was made (because, really, he wasn’t relaxing, but putting “seemingly endless hours into [the album]” and getting “madly excited about [his] music”). The new album sees more of Snaith’s decidedly psychedelic sound, as well as the influence of having a live band, from the track arrangements to the infrastructure of the melodies themselves.

Merge will also release a Caribou EP, “Melody Day,” which is the first single off the new record.

Andorra is out August 21, 2007 on Merge.

Tracklisting
1. Melody Day
2. Sandy
3. After Hours
4. She’s the One
5. Desiree
6. Eli
7. Sundialing
8. Irene
9. Niobe