Miike Snow brings Swedish super pop to Chicago

April 5, 2010, at the Metro

By Lily Hansen
Published: April 8th, 2010 | 2:10pm

Hearing Miike Snow’s infectious, head-bobbing pop beats for the first time live—and then learning that two of its members, former Swedish producers Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg, have produced music legends including Madonna, Britney Spears, and Kylie Minogue—everything begins to make sense. Even on melodramatic songs like “Burial,” Miike Snow manages to artfully blur sentimental lyrics with upbeat synth and piano-heavy pop tunes, negating any possibility that the group will escape the endless club remix/ soundtrack circuit. Unsurprisingly, the Swedish superstars are about five steps ahead of all of us, and eclipse most pop music cliches by briefly disguising themselves at every performance with white surgical masks that result in a bizarre Grey’s Anatomy gone gangsta look.

After adding a second show for what became a two-night residency at the Metro, Miike Snow delivered an energetic set that was interspersed with crowd pleasers like “Animal,” the first single from their 2009 self-titled debut (Downtown). While the musicians are not exactly chatty, Miike Snow’s mystique is the source of their popularity—a point well served with the wild cheers that erupted as the band tossed off their masks to reveal the men behind the music.

The band covered all of their bases with hits “Black & Blue,” “Silvia,” “Burial,” and the eyebrow-raising erotic jam “Plastic Jungle.” The songs have been heard everywhere from Mark Ronson remixes to Gossip Girl, yet each felt fresh again at this performance and proved that, in spite of Miike Snow’s fancy toys and slick beats, the band is not settling on being just another studio band who can’t cut it on the dance floor.

As they dove into their super smash “Animal,” one could only think Miike Snow had outgrown the Metro these past two nights and was well on their way to gaining the status, and venues, of their former pop princess protégées. Although surely as they sang the infamous line, “I’d change shapes just to hide in this place, but I’m still an animal” Miike Snow’s fans only wished that they could morph into anything that would keep them in Chicago for just one more night.

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Miike Snow official site

Miike Snow Myspace page

Downtown Records