Caribou @ Cabaret Voltaire, 20 Feb

For a man with a PhD in mathematics, Dan Snaith's music is reassuringly vague and fluid. Recorded under the name Caribou, his latest record Andorra was drenched in dreamy effects, but retained clear and catchy enough melodies to be considered a 'pop' record. Snaith may also be the only man in indie-pop brave enough to incorporate the much-maligned sound of progressive trance into his music, as in epic album closer Niobe. While the chiming Melody Day caught most attention as his first single, it's the extraordinary ambition of Niobe that will keep fans returning to this LP in the long-term. If that's not worth the price of admission alone, then the promise of material from 2005's The Milk of Human Kindness and Up In Flames (2003, recorded as Manitoba) should seal the deal. Both are stronger full-lengths than Andorra, and neither threaten a surprise appearance from Paul Oakenfold. [Ally Brown]