Chris Taylor (aka CANT, aka the blond fella out of Grizzly Bear) is used to being a bit of background figure in his day job with the harmonious Brooklyn indie types. However, more recently Taylor has grasped the opportunity to show off his own multifarious talents – first by producing acclaimed albums by the likes of Twin Shadow, and now with his own solo project CANT, who tonight play their first UK show at a sold out Cargo.

First up though is one of Taylor’s production charges. Taking to the stage alone, Dev Hynes (aka Blood Orange, aka Lightspeed Champion, aka him out of Test Icicles) has apparently turned up dressed as a dapper Lister from Red Dwarf. His funky vocal strains give him the air of a budget Prince (although by no means a bad one), while his unashamed fretboard shredding proves that he’s more of a guitar virtuoso than many had him down for. His spontaneous darting in and out of the crowd gives the set a sense of unpredictably, but despite his best efforts he’s somewhat let down by his sometimes tinny-sounding backing track.

Hynes returns to the stage just a few minutes later. Alternating between bass and guitar with Taylor, he forms part of a four piece band who gamely and enthusiastically interpret the multitude of musical ideas contained on CANT‘s debut, ‘Dreams Come True’ amid swirling dry ice and network of multicoloured lasers. At times the heady combination of scattering drums, eerie, monotonous vocals and cold, clinical synths – heavier and squelchier than on record – is just a little too overwhelming, and Taylor’s talents as a songwriter shine through more on simpler tracks like set closer ‘Bericht’.

The band seem genuinely flattered by the crowd’s enthusiastic call for an encore, and tonight’s show proves that Taylor has the ability to cram more genuinely interesting ideas into one solo effort than many of his peers will be able to think up in a lifetime, even if he does have a tendency to over-complicate things.

Francis Whittaker