Caribou

Caribou main man Daniel Snaith has a Ph.D. in mathematics, and his father and sister are college professors in the field. Naturally, the music he creates as Caribou — which was forced to change its moniker from Manitoba after punk curmudgeon "Handsome Dick" Manitoba threatened a lawsuit — possesses the mysterious beauty of theoretical numbers and abstract dimensions. Last year's gorgeous Andorra weaved together geometric analog synths, puffy-cloud vocals and tweaking percussion, creating an eerie synthesis of chilly new wave and '60s psych-pop. Standout "Sundialing" could be an outtake from Radiohead's In Rainbows, with its shivering percussion and Kraut-rock hypnotics, while flute chirps, sleigh bells and falsetto sighs make "Melody Day" sound as airy and sugary as carnival cotton candy.