I was taken aback by the length of the queue when I arrived at The Deaf Institute, and indeed by the enthusiasm of the audience during the show. Highasakite's last album topped the chart in their native Norway, but I suspect that their growing popularity in the UK owes much to their support role for the Icelandic folk band Of Monsters and Men last autumn. Ironically, though, Highasakite's new album Camp Echo, released just three days before this gig, has moved away from folk towards a more fashionable electro pop sound, though their trademark use of percussion has been retained. They appear to have been able to reconcile wider commercial success with artistic imagination.
The support band, Gordi, strongly evoked the sound of one of the most prominent artists who brought folk into the mainstream 5 years ago, Bon Iver. A mix of the traditional with electronic production mirrors the life of Australian Sophie Payton, who grew up on a remote farm, and then moved to Sydney to study medicine. Her first EP, Clever Disguise, has recently been released, and her female vocals are actually deeper than Justin Vernon's falsetto, backed by a serene soundscape. I found her set immensely beautiful, the highlight being a Courtney Barnett cover. A recurrent theme in her music is reconciliation, and its calming effect could be considered therapeutic.
A dichotomy between an extrovert musical style and serious subject matter is at the heart of Highasakite's work. The album title refers to a detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, and its opening song My Name Is Liar is about our freedoms being under attack. In My Mind Is A Bad Neighbourhood, Ingrid Helene Havik sings: “either you are with us or you’re with the terrorists,” whilst a dark nuclear theme is carried over from the last album. Chernobyl felt particularly effective live, and use of instrumental transitions to bridge the gap between songs gave this set flow. The cramped stage, though, allowed Ingrid little space to move, and it's clear that this tour had been conceived with much larger venues in mind. Despite this restriction, she danced almost constantly, and the audience was clearly highly engaged, perhaps aware opportunities see them in some intimate circumstances are likely to be limited in future.
Ingrid explained the dark subject matter of Camp Echo in an interview: "There are not many love songs on the album, because I haven't been in that state of mind for a long time. Global warming and war have been my main concern." She's also commented upon the use of electronics, explaining that they've been listening to a lot of The Prodigy, Fever Ray, The Knife and Die Antwoord, which explains the greater aggression in the new music. Yet, the effect was far from depressing, perhaps because much of the music is eminently danceable. Deep Sea Diver, for example, is synth driven, and Golden Ticket is up-tempo. The complex studio sound was recreated surprisingly accurately, and I was surprised to find out after the gig that Ingrid was feeling unwell, given her committed performance. For me, the highlights were the more introspective dreamy moments, such as The Man On The Ferry from Silent Treatment and God Don't Leave Me from their impassioned new release.
Set List
- Liar
- Chernobyl
- Bad Neighbourhood
- Hiroshima
- Someone who'll get it
- The Man On The Ferry
- Leaving No Traces
- Samurai Swords
- Deep Sea Diver
- Keep That Letter Safe
- God Don't Leave Me
- I Am My Own Disease
- Golden Ticket
- Since Last Wednesday
- Lover
No comments:
Post a Comment