Electronic pioneers The Knife dazzled and baffled in equal measure at the Roundhouse in Camden on Wednesday.
The Swedish brother and sister duo, touring for the first time in seven years, challenged the expectations of a music concert in a show dominated by nine spangled dancers.
The performers, who would not look out of place in a dated science fiction film, glided haphazardly through the eclectic, cult-like set featuring tribal drumming, a koto, and many other exotic instruments.
The outcome of the Shaking the Habitual show was a raw, electronic sound like no other, as the rhythmic performance washed over the baffled, dumbstruck audience.
Those willing to accept the absurdity could not fail to be mesmerised, yet some may also attack the oddball act as pretentious, especially at the £30 price tag.
There was frequently little notion of where duo Olof Dreijer and Karin Dreijer Andersson actually were for example, as they blurred with the ever merry hornpiping dance troop.
In “Got to let you” a bearded vocalist was bizarrely projected onto a picture frame, while for another track none of the performers were even on stage.
Karin’s voice could still be heard, presumably on a backing track, as the duo continued to play on the boundaries of what is considered live.
Although The Knife may be too non-conformist for some, their passionately melodic, raw and experimental act stands on its own two feet, simply by being like nothing else.
3.5/5
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