Caribou live at The Button Factory

CARIBOU (The Button Factory, Dublin)

If you’ve ever wondered what Antony Hegarty would sound like if he spent more time hanging out with the Death From Above mob, you got your answer tonight as Daniel Snaith brought his Caribou quartet to a sold-out Button Factory.
The band have been on the road pretty much non-stop since April, but there were no signs of fatigue as they launched into ‘Kaili’, one of the deliciously skewed psych-pop moments from last year’s Swim album.
Alternating between keyboards, percussion and guitar Snaith has a geeky charm and winning way with a melody, which suggests that crossover success a la Moby and Hot Chip is Caribou’s for the taking.
Other highlights include the joyous punk-funk of ‘Leave House’, ‘Niobe’ which boasts some of the finest acid squelches this side of Richie Hawtin and ‘Bowls’, a six-minute stomper that’s all clanging cowbells one moment and epic Ennio Morricone-style strings the next.
That’s the good news. The bad is Caribou’s decision two-thirds of the way through the set to switch into Orbital tribute band mode. I’ve no doubt that the likes of ‘Hannibal’ and ‘Lalibela’ are great fun when you’re pilled up, but devoid of hallucinogens they’re just ploddingly predictable rave-lite instrumentals.
Caribou are in severe danger of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory when up pops ‘Odessa’, a Junior Boys-esque belter, which finds their leader back where he belongs – at the microphone.
The whig-out encore version of ‘Sun’ is just as exhilarating and prompts the unlikeliest of stage dives from Snaith who seems genuinely moved by the deafening cheers as they head for the showers.

STUART CLARK