caribou + born ruffians

by Emily Kendrick
Fri, 2008/05/16 - Scala, London
ARTROCKER RATING:
Two of Canada’s finest globe-trotters are once again hitting the road together, in a reunion of sorts, to bring us the first bonafide summer love-in.

BORN RUFFIANS can certainly kick some country-bumpkin behind with their take on the schizophrenic old-timey genre. Luke’s yodelling becomes a hyperactive endeavour live, and their unashamedly catchy hooks and athletic harmonising remind us that music is supposed to be fun.
Make no mistake, Caribou create a noise worth risking tinnitus for...
‘Foxes Mate for Life’ is sung with surprising clarity, and undercut with gruff repetitions of its title from the profusely sweating rhythm section. It’s as if they’ve got somewhere to be - it’s all frisky playing, teaming with rockabilly vibes and machine gun drumming. Finally, ‘I Need A Life’ starts like a gospel lament before the drums (and grunting) kick in aggressively. Luke is tangoed with a melody that flits like a wandering free range bird, and it all climaxes in swampy guitars. Mission accomplished, you could say! CARIBOU are not quite the poster boys my previous encounter with them had led me to believe. Inebriation lead me astray, but one thing beer goggles couldn’t disguise this time is just how fucking phenomenal a band they are. While the Andorra LP’s rhythms are gently non-intrusive on record, live they are the overpowering draw; on ‘Melody Day’ the force of the two thrashing drum kits is just mind-blowing. The psychedelic trip is only increased by arty projections which compliment the erratic but precise music. Tonight’s set is mostly a mesh of the latest album, with ‘Bees’ woven from warm duelling guitars, snappy stick wielding and hushed vocals. Picking up any instrument that appears to be thrown his way, Dan Snaith’s studio mastery comes to the fore when seemingly impossible sampled sounds are recreated. Caught up in a hedonistic vein, the world seems to disappear along to ‘Desiree’. The night then closes with some furious full-band percussion and cochlea damaging volume - littering the floor with the audience’s jaws. Make no mistake, Caribou create a noise worth risking tinnitus for.

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