Since their last release in 2015, Caravan Palace has been almost entirely silent until a few months ago.  Out of the blue last March, a new single dropped – starting a buildup that would lead to one crazy climax.  Caravan Palace are a group of French weirdos who make EDM that specifically pulls from inspiration of the 1930s swing era.  Dinky trumpets, swirly girly vocals and fast jump rhythms.  Their craft of sound is absolutely nonpareil and seems to only get better with time.  The 2019 release of Chronologic brings some insane tracks but a new approach as well.
          Right out of the cage, our electro-swing masters bring us perhaps the best two songs on the album.  “Miracle” and “About You”, both singles released prior, represent what Caravan Palace is capable of.  This will give you a proper taste of the unique fusion that is skip-snap shakes plus deep dubstep drops.  Throughout the entire album, you will attune to the uniquely mixed sounds of heavy trumpet, squeaky vocals, and old-time record scratches.  This level of detail is what makes the band so incomparable.
          However, also throughout Chronologic, you will trace a new approach to the sound.  Never before has the group sounded so pop EDM, which may be good or bad, depending on your taste.  “Melancolia” was a big shocker – sounding a lot like another song at an EDM festival where you may not be paying attention to the artist.  Other songs lean to compete with contemporary EDM masters as well.  “Leena” and “April” show traces of brain-shattering bass drops and unorthodox rhythm patters in the heat of electronic noise.  This new adaptation towards pop has been a little concerning, but luckily though, “Melancolia” is one outlier on the album that sounded least like Caravan Palace. The rest of the record is sure to deliver high-energy, swing wackiness like only they can.  Now that they’ve widened their audience a bit, see for yourself if Chronologic is a sound your feet can get behind.
9.5/10
For fans of: Flume, Jamie Berry, Parov Stelar