Once upon a time, Caribou was Manitoba, a stage name for the chilled out, slightly incidental electronica of Dan Snaith. That was before, quite ridiculously, punk singer Richard "Handsome Dick" Manitoba objected - Snaith memorably suggesting it was "like The Smiths suing John Smith".But the name change seemed to fire up Snaith, his records as Caribou more song-focussed than ever. There were Krautrock and psychedelic influences. In fact, I was so impressed at the tuneful 1960s guitar pop of the lead single for 1997's Andorra, I interviewed him about it for Metro.
His new record, Swim, also reveals that he's honed his sound even further - it's much more dancefloor focussed. The stylish European electronica of opening track and lead-out single Odessa is reminiscent of a really good Kings Of Convenience remix - there's a fragility to the voice hugely reminiscent of Erlend Oye.
In the main, it works live, too. What really impresses at a completely rammed Deaf Institute is the percussion: propulsive loops are layered under the work of a live drummer who rightly shares the front of the stage with Snaith. It's not all about the beats; Snaith employs nostalgic sounds from acid house, techno and even disco. Indeed, Caribou are far better when they don't try and be a rock band (there are two guitarists lurking in the shadows) and slather the slower tracks in feedback.
The only problem, really, is Snaith's voice. Even on record it feels weak - although the vocals themselves are crucial to giving Caribou humanity. Live, it's even thinner. Suggestions that Snaith gets some training are unlikely to meet appreciative ears, but he's proved that he enjoyed tweaking his sound throughout those ten years. Now for the most critical tweak of all: himself.
