Latest releases reviewed

CARIBOU Marino Leaf ***

Caribou is the tag Dan Snaith has been using for his off-kilter emotional electronica since a spat with a punk rocker forced the Canadian to retire the Manitoba name. The beauty of Snaith's work lies in how he tweaks melodies in distinctive, unexpected ways to create a fascinating clatter of sound. Naturally, the pictures to go with these sounds also employ grand flights of imagination. Marino is a collection of 16 animated shorts shot by Dublin collective Delicious 9, which were initially used for Caribou's live shows. Hooked up to various tracks from Snaith's Milk of Human Kindness and Up in Flames albums, the flicks are vivid and entertaining, especially in how they bring out the child-like wonder of Snaith's music through the use of stop-motion teddy bears, giant owls and flying cows. In addition to the DVD, there's also a CD of tracks that didn't make the last album. www.caribou.fm

Jim Carroll

THE GO-BETWEENS That Striped Sunlight Sound Tuition ****

"What is the 'striped sunlight sound'?" asks an Australian music journalist of Go-Betweens member Robert Forster. Those three words have been following this fine Australian band for almost 30 years - they dedicated the very words to their debut single, Lee Remick. Now a going concern again after years of Forster and fellow GB Grant McLennan wandering off into solo territory, this is a cracking DVD package for anyone who cares about superbly constructed pop songs from one of the best bands of their kind. Featuring a live set from Brisbane (which focuses on their most recent studio album, the excellent Oceans Apart), an acoustic chat'n'strum session with Forster and McLennan, and a live CD, the band's striped sunlight sound splashes forth from all corners. You know what to do. www.go-betweens.net

Tony Clayton-Lea