Miike Snow

A pre-Halloween crowd swelled Cabaret Voltaire for this live club appearance of Andrew Wyatt’s (formerly of The AM) new band, as Smurfs, vikings – possibly in some kind of lame tribute to the band’s Swedish origins – and staggering show-offs in bodystockings crammed into the dancefloor area. They were here for a party. Miike Snow showed them a good time. But that was about it.

Trapped somewhere between being a quirky indie band of the kind which Wes Anderson fans listen to and a house-playing clubber’s delight, the group amble through tracks like ‘Black & Blue’, ‘Silvia’ and ‘Animal’ as if they aren’t sure whether they’re backing Sam Sparro or Stuart Murdoch. The music is quite pleasing, but this crowd are up for mayhem, and the sight of six guys striding on in expressionless Michael Myers masks (Wyatt’s sits atop his bushy beard) fools them into thinking they’re going to get it. There are two highlights: an admirably bizarre cover of Air’s ‘Kelly Watch the Stars’ and the ten-minute closing techno breakdown, when all of a sudden they’ve decided to impersonate Underworld. More of that will do just fine, ta.

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