Disclosure's Caracal: Worth the Hype?

I'm going to say this outright at the beginning of this piece of writing so that it is out of the way: No album of Disclosure's is going to live up to Settle, no matter how good it is. That being said, we can look at Caracal as a completely separate entity and decide if it is worth the hype from there, through a (slightly) biased lens. Let's begin.

Firstly, take a gander at that tracklist. See those features? See those #@$%*!@ FEATURES??? Just the names of the tracks alone gave me chills, let alone the presence of names like The Weeknd, Lorde, Miguel, LION BABE, Sam Smith, Kwabs, etc. Without hitting the play button once, I had goosebumps. I didn't care if it was mountain goat mating calls for 4 minutes straight, a track entitled Nocturnal with our Lord and Savior Abel Tesfaye's name included was already my Song of the Year. But I digress. The entire package at first glance was smoky and dark and like, sexy. I already dug the vibes.

I then listened to the album through once. Sadly, I was not blown away by many tracks. I had heard Omen, Holding On, Hourglass, and Willing and Able before, as they were singles, but I tried to forget my previous notions of them with this listen. The ones that struck me were Omen, Nocturnal, Magnets, and Superego. Rightfully, I was a bit disappointed, as I expected to go apeshit over every song on the album. I then asked myself why I liked these specific songs so much, and realized that it was because they felt more "authentically Disclosure", a concept I made up in my head, and were most reminiscent of the sweeping, deep house sounds of Settle. 

My second listen was when I realized that this album isn't Settle, and as I said, it never will be. But that doesn't mean it's bad. In fact, it's the differences between Settle and Caracal that make it so great. Caracal, while the features are diverse and the lyrics all from different perspectives, has a narrative quality that is so, so appealing and surprisingly cohesive. My second listen gave way to a love for Nocturnal and its darkness, Willing and Able and its bopping simplicity, Good Intentions and it's yearning, crooning deliciousness, Gregory Porter and Sam Smith's massive vocals, the slow sweetness of Masterpiece, the list goes on and on. When an album so heavily relies on features, they better be damn good. And everyone featured really delivers, vocally and lyrically, in a huge way. Magnets is undeniably special. Omen is a classic dance tune, but is so much more, too. Hourglass is massive. Superego is the song that I will get kicked out of a club to, mark my words now. I'm going to be screaming "I TELL YA HOW IT IS YA DON'T LIKE IT" as the feds drag me away.

look at these sweet English angels!

Ultimately, Guy and Howard have the entire electronic music industry in a sleeper hold. They tirelessly produce every song, they write on every song, they are constantly providing bangers, all while staying on the absolute lowest of keys (looking and frowning at you, Diplo). The work and the artistry that went into Caracal is present and obvious. My hat, shoes, and coat are off to Disclosure, Jimmy Napes, and every damn artist that made the decision to contribute to this excellent sophomore project. My stamp is on it: Worth the Hype, people.

Bottom Line: If you're looking for Settle 2.0, you won't find it. Caracal is different animal entirely, and it bites. Hard. In a good sort of way.