Everything I've ever thought about MØ is wrong. Well, maybe not all of it – I think she put together an incredible debut LP this year with No Mythologies To Follow, and I think that hard work has put her in league with the leaders of the new wave of indie pop like Grimes, Charli XCX, and others. But seeing Karen Marie Ørsted live, I abandoned all preconceived notions at the door. MØ is a great songwriter and a really great singer (like really great), but after seeing the other side, it's hard to try to find ways to explain MØ without the performance aspect – it's just too powerful. After selling out her first post-Mythologies gig at the Crocodile earlier this year, she clocked in a follow up date with haste to give even more fans an opportunity to take part in the full MØ experience last week. Together with LA indie pop singer HOLYCHILD, MØ brought the house down at the Neptune Theatre and guaranteed that her next return to Seattle will need an even bigger venue.
HOLYCHILD was a smart pick for a MØ opener on this tour. There are a few pretty easy lines to draw between the two from the get go: leaning on the vicious dance edge of the indie pop sphere, rocking the gym shorts over leotard look, and throwing toss-outs to the pop goddesses in their sets to name a few. But Liz and Louie of HOLYCHILD held their own Monday night and had more than a few established fans in the audience – definitely even more by the time they ended. Liz moved back and forth across the stage with abounding energy and a huge smile while the band crammed all kinds of percussion into the space behind her. The audience was in love with it – a cover of "Say My Name" and efforts from the band's debug EP Mindspeak had quite a few of the crowd singing along. HOLYCHILD got the energy started perfectly Monday night.
HOLYCHILD
"Why do everyone have to grow old?" That's the hook in MØ's hook line and sinker pop wonder "Glass". Find her on the Internet and her Ø-less tag is "MOMOMOYOUTH". In fact, just about everything about MØ screams youth, from her stage name (meaning "maiden", hinting at the naivety of youth) to her maniacal stage behavior, to the haste and immediacy found throughout her lyrics. Most of MØ's backing visuals are her own face, hair down and youth-filled, doubled or tripled into a kaleidoscope of MOMOMO as Ørsted bounces across the stage. She starts each set with "Maiden", a declaration of innocence before diving into a plethora of life experiences that speak to the opposite, the slow burn of the candle down to a silent pool. Every song is a dance number detailed battered idealism or an omen of the dark to come (see "Freedom #1" or "Red in the Grey" for starters). The singer is wise beyond her years, yet caters to an audience basking in the hot glows of life's kindling before the cold.
Ørsted is wise beyond her years – her perception of her own work both as an artist and a pop star is truly astounding at this phase of her career. With only one full length record to her name, she already has a set character with a fervent mission – something that the pop gods and goddesses should deify her for immediately. It's actually kind of funny looking around the room watching the kids take it all in through a three inch screen, filming every track from the front row, even as ørsted is on hands and knees belting out "Waste of Time" inches in front of them. But yet, she doesn't seem frustrated in the slightest – to MØ, there is no line drawn between youth and understanding. There is a great sea to venture, but much of it has to be on your own terms. Thus, she puts it all on the table like few pop stars are willing to do and lets the crowd take what they will. Truly, she has no mythologies to follow.
Thankfully, as the show went on, those of stronger will and lesser tech-addiction pushed forward so that the last couple numbers were an explosion of energy in both the crowd and on the stage. MØ's ubiquitous hit "Don't Wanna Dance" lit the Neptune on fire, and not a single person escaped the dance pit on their feet for the last two minutes. Mø made her first visit to the Neptune theater a special one, navigating the space from back to front on different tracks and making every second count. There's no doubt that she'll be back and go even harder next time, and you will want to be there.
MØ:
MØ's No Mythologies To Follow is out now on RCA.
by Gloria Mayne Davó
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