Caribou, Manchester Apollo

Listening to Battles can be a bruising experience. The aptly-named US experimentalists make music that is thrilling and punishing at the same time. They’ve garnered a reputation as ‘serious’ musicians but having shed founder member Tyondai Braxton for their new album, ‘Gloss Drop’, guitarist Dave Konopka said in a recent interview that he wanted their songs to be “fun”. “I don’t want us to come across pretentious, like, ‘We’re this band making smart music shit’”, he added. So it was interesting to see how their brand of math-rock was received at this huge club event. To quote The Rapture would it be “too esoteric for a Saturday nite”? The first bit of “fun” arrived with a reworked version of new single ‘Ice Cream’, which gloriously melds frenetic guitar to an African melody and the vocals of techno producer Matias Aguayo. ‘My Machines’, featuring the voice of Gary Newman, is another highlight, although the 45-minutes the band were allocated on the bill was barely enough time to demonstrate their ingenuity.

The success of Caribou’s ‘Swim’ album last year opened the band to a new audience. While the Canadian outfit’s sound can also be deemed “experimental” - mixing as it does genres such as folktronica, psychedelia, house and techno - it is far more accessible than Battles’ music and more club-friendly. But it’s still surprising to see them take the stage at 1.45am, with even some of the younger faces in the audience showing the first signs of fatigue. Perhaps all the waiting around didn’t agree with front man Dan Snaith and his Caribou cohorts because it seems to take the four piece a few songs to get into their stride, ‘Swim’’s ‘Leave House’ sounding a little flat compared to the album version. And it’s an older track, the 60s pop of ‘Melody Day’ from their ‘Andorra’ album, that really gets the vast Apollo bouncing for the first time. Multi-talented Snaith - once labelled the “brainiest man in psychedelic dance music” - is certainly an accomplished musician, playing keyboards, drums and guitar as well as handling lead vocals. And it’s clear the band love playing live, despite a hectic touring schedule over the past year. After regaining their momentum, ‘Swim’ standouts - ‘Kaili’, ‘Hannibal’ and ‘Odessa’ - are brilliantly delivered along with a soaring version of ‘Bowls’ that sees Snaith hammering away at his instruments with abandon. A truly thrilling experience.