Review: Caribou at Fremantle Arts Centre

Caribou at Fremantle Arts Centre at Fremantle Arts Centre
w/ Bad Whip, Rok Riley & Ben Taffe
Tuesday, January 7, 2025

Canadian producer, musician, and polymath Dan Snaith has been crafting albums of his unique brand of electronica since the turn of the millennium, and Caribou’s four-piece live show is always a pleasure to behold. It’s been 10 years since his last visit, as Snaith himself acknowledged was far too long. But he and his band did their best to make up for it by delivering a superb performance under the stars on Tuesday night, focusing on his new album Honey but taking in highlights from past releases.

Honey is his 11th album, including his other aliases—the more dancefloor/club-oriented Daphni and his original moniker, Manitoba (that he changed to Caribou in 2004 after a legal challenge)—but it’s his sixth record as Caribou and first since 2020’s Suddenly.

His latest release is a bit of a departure from his usual sound, with a more current, upfront, upbeat, pop-dance vibe, mixing electro beats and cut-up vocals with bass music. Snaith’s production always has his trademark danceable, fun, emotive sound with a live edge and his distinct vocals. For years he’s been at the forefront of a new wave of electronic music, alongside friends and luminaries such as Four Tet, Jamie XX, and Bonobo, creative artists and accomplished musicians that value the warmth and looseness of the human element.

Two of Perth’s finest veteran DJs were in support tonight, with Rok Riley and Ben Taaffe on deck duties in between acts. They provided some smooth vibes, like the jazzy drum ‘n’ bass of PFN’s One and Only, as famously featured on LTJ Bukem’s Logical Progression mix. They mixed things up with some laidback beats and glitchy bass music, providing the perfect ambience as the crowd slowly streamed into the glorious confines of Freo Arts Centre on this pleasant, warm evening.

Some keen-eyed fans would have noticed Snaith himself, casually walking through the crowd on the lawn, the unassuming, bald, and bespectacled Canadian in a t-shirt and shorts with socks pulled up. (Though when he performs, the glasses come off!) A few coyly approached after recognising him for a quick chat to show their appreciation of his work or get a record signed.

The local live support was Bad Whip—an improvisational dance music duo comprised of drummer Alex Reid and keyboardist Josiah Padmanabhan from prominent Perth outfit Grievous Bodily Calm.

Facing each other on the right side of the stage, the two intensely focused on their instruments, with rolling percussive beats underpinning sharp synths and tweaking melodies. The duo have been purveying their jazzy sound and stylings for a few years now, and it’s always an exciting experience to witness their unique waves of swirling, intricate, noodly electronica. It was a good choice of support, and Snaith himself was watching and seemed to be enjoying their performance.

Riley and Taaffe were back for another short set, dropping some more cool, ravey beats and bobs, with some layers of acid sprinkled on top—one track sampling a little tweaking synth riff lifted from Josh Wink’s classic 303 workout, Higher State of Consciousness.

They took us past 8 pm, as the crowd really started to fill up the South Lawn and the area on the hill under the mighty pines, as the sunset ignited the sky behind the stage at this beautiful, picturesque outdoor venue, shining on the grand old heritage building.

Right on schedule at 8:20 pm, Caribou took to the stage, the four members assuming their positions. Snaith has had quite a constant setup and presentation on stage with his trusty band for many years. His guitarist to the left, who also plays keyboards, himself central behind his keyboard and mic, and his drummer and bass player to the right, who also occasionally do keyboards and vocals. They create quite a striking image onstage, especially when the backing visual screen fires up and they are illuminated in silhouette.

Commencing in darkness, the stage exploded with flashes of strobing white light and smoke as they launched into their set with the heavy house beat of Volume from the new album. The track samples the 1987 club classic Pump Up The Volume, which itself took its main vocal sample from Eric B. & Rakim’s I Know You Got Soul.

It was a nice way to start things off before moving onto the more melodic sounds of Climbing. Another new track that, with its layered, shimmering synths and a looped vocal sample, “Falling for You,” is reminiscent of Daft Punk.

This segued into the echoey, percussive, ringing sounds of Bowls from 2010’s breakthrough release, Swim. Another highlight from this album and one of his best tunes, Odessa, really got things going, sounding much heavier live.

Ravi from 2020’s Suddenly record is such a joyous song built on a cute, cut-up sample that was enhanced with pretty pink and blue lighting and featured some double-drumming action, with Snaith sitting down at his kit to join his amazing, precise, and relentless drummer, Brad Weber, who utilises electronic pads to great effect. The track is in the style of glitchy, sample-based electro that Fred Again has brought back to the forefront of the scene.

As the applause died down, Snaith came to the front, pumping his fists in the air, exclaiming. “‘You guys are awesome! It’s been 10 years since we’ve been here, and it’s so good to be back!”

While it’s electronic-driven music, there’s something very warm and lush about Caribou, especially with the live band and vocals. His intricate, layered, effects-drenched sounds, use of flanger, space echo tape delay, and reverb imbue his songs with real character. Perfectly imperfect, human music that’s easy to lose yourself in, and the band are a pleasure to witness live—talented multi-instrumentalists locked in to the beat. Snaith really seems to enjoy himself, stomping his foot and grooving away behind his keyboards.

A couple more tracks from the new album were up next—Come Find Me and Only You, which sounded great live with its warped, pitch-bending synths and dazzling highs, featuring a big, building finale.

Sun is a live favourite. A psychedelic krautrock-inspired odyssey, with its mantra-like vocal of simply “sun.” The track was enhanced with minimal visuals of a black circle on a white background that slowly zoomed in till it filled up the screen. A black hole sun, if you will. It climaxed with an epic, extended outro.

Also lifted from Suddenly was one of his best, most danceable tunes, Never Come Back, which has a great drop and sounded even bigger live. The older tracks were always greeted with cheers. While he has a huge back catalogue to choose from, they really focused heavily on the new album, playing most of it, including four tracks in a row to finish the set proper. Over Now and Broke My Heart were followed by the title track, Honey, with its heavy, wobbly dubstep vibes offset by its sweet female vocal sample, “You’ll always be my honey.”

Got To Change (the album’s final track) was a fitting finale with its ascending key progression, climaxing in a washed-out, hazy explosion of synths, smoke, and lights before an abrupt ending.

The band came together at the front of the stage to rapturous applause, with Snaith thanking the crowd genuinely and profusely before announcing, “We got one more!” and launching into their most popular track, Can’t Do Without You, from 2015’s Our Love, to finish a wonderful evening. A swirling, dreamy love song, it was a touching way to say goodbye and a kiss goodnight.

Let’s hope it’s not 10 more years before this talented and modest modern maestro of electronic music is back.

ALFRED GORMAN

Photos by Adrian Thomson