Lykke Li

O2 ABC, Glasgow

30/10/2011

Lykke Li’s entrance at the ABC tonight is foreshadowed by thundering drums, strobing searchlights and inordinate levels of dry ice; setting the tone for the evening ahead, as this relentless display never lets up.

The band, who are as impossibly tight a backing band as you could wish for, rarely pause between songs. But by doing so, everything starts to sound the same, as the relentless dramatic percussion does little to distinguish one song from another. The drums bring ‘Dance Dance Dance’ fantastically to life, but most songs lose their subtlety, and their individual charm: it’s barely noticeable when ‘I’m Good, I’m Gone’ turns into ‘I Follow Rivers’.

When there’s a change of pace, it’s very noticeable, and indeed welcomed. Subsequently, a beautifully reined in ‘Little Bit’ steals the show, while a phenomenal keyboard interlude draws some of the biggest cheers of the night.  After years of exposure to Florence and the Machine, this all feels a bit over-done: the tribal drums, the flowing sleeves and consciously kooky dancing, the waif with the mighty lungs (there’s no denying how powerful Lykke’s voice is). Although judging by tonight’s crowd, we’re apparently not past the point of greeting a singer battering a drum with mild hysteria.

That Lykke keeps stopping to tell people, who are clearly enjoying themselves, off for not making enough noise doesn’t help things. “The least you could do is clap along”, she moans before ‘Get Some’, leaving huffy and petulant after the encore. And it’s disappointing: both Lykke Li albums are fascinating little minimal masterpieces, but it feels like everything that made them so has been stripped away here in favour of creating spectacle – spectacle which tonight sadly just doesn’t work.

Heather Crumley