Miike Snow

4.8.2010

record bar

kansas city. mo.

The first time I heard the music of Miike Snow, I was folding piles of overpriced, poorly constructed tee shirts in a popular corporate clothing store that shall remain nameless.  The bright, bouncy beat, and honest vocals of the hit single Animal, pierced my numb mind and got me through another hour of work, thus earning me another $7.50, and an interest in Miike Snow.

Along with the immediacy and catchiness of songs like Animal, there is also an open and darker element to the music of Miike Snow. This was evidenced as the quixotic group performed to a sold out crowd at Midtown’s  Record Bar this past Thursday, April 8.

Miike Snow is Sweedish outfit composed of three members, none of whom are named “Miike” or just “Mike.” Their sound has been described as “cool emotional pop” via The Guardian, and if it must fall into a genre it would rest nicely alongside the term electro/indie pop. However, the whole of Miike Snow is not so easily categorized.

The members of Miike Snow emerged in anonymity on the stage wearing white tragedy masks that popped through a haze of blue light and fog, while heavy electric beats droned on. The group got to work with characteristically pulsating, heavy/happy songs such as Sylvia which references city steps, power lines and a fickle lover named, none other than, Sylvia. For every beat Miike Snow put out, the crowd (heavily populated by energetic 18 year olds) pulsated and rocked. Songs like Cult Logic carried dark undercurrents with lyrics such as: “It feels like I am diving into emptiness” yet at the same time remained undeniably danceable. In addition to the heavy/happy vibe, there is a lot about Miike Snow that seems contradictory. The songs are poppy but the performance is staunch. However, this is not so much frustrating as it is fascinating, and it fuels the hard to pin-point persona. Even the chorus to his most popular and catchy song, Animal, comes off as bizarrely and brilliantly poignant: “I change shapes just to hide in this place, but I’m still, I’m still an animal. Nobody knows it but me when I slip, yah I slip, I’m still an animal.” 

Speaking of Animal, the group performed and extended version of the song to close the set and then followed up with a macabre encore of unidentified sound.  All in all, Miike Snow is worth seeing simply for the challenge of wrapping your head around the live performance and the personas behind it, plus it’s a guarantee that you won’t get away without at least bobbing your head.