Live Review MØ, Brixton Academy, London 4th April 2018

While MØ may be more well-known for her guest contributions on some of pop’s most successful hits of recent times – take ‘Cold Water’ and ‘Lean On’, for example – the Danish pop star takes to the stage at Brixton with the venue in her total command.

Starting the night off with new release ‘Roots’ from her latest EP, the track is just one among a glittering array of catchy electro-pop jams across the evening. It’s darker and more bass-heavy than her usual, but it’s a way to make a commanding entrance. It’s dark and daring and impressive, her silky vocals riding high against the deep synths.

Single ‘Nostalgia’ is a prime example of how MØ crafts perfect pop soundscapes while still remaining adventurous with her genre-sampling – crossing between the boundaries of electronica and hip hop. There are no backing dancers or over-the-top theatrics of any sort tonight - it’s her, just singing and moving capriciously across the stage, set against video backdrops. “Don’t you want to be wild with me, like we used to back then?” she sings. The crowd’s rapturous response suggests yes, indeed.

Her energy is infectious, through the way she commands the stage and through her vocal performance. Her tracks are energetic and effervescent enough, earworm after earworm. Aforementioned crowd pleasers ‘Lean On’ and ‘Cold Water’ get the biggest reception of the night, and her setlist is a seamless blend of what it means to be pop, mixing it with everything in between – EDM, R&B and electronica. ‘Kamikaze’ is a highlight with its bubbly instrumentation and shimmering synths. Tonight at Brixton, MØ shows she’s got the qualities to continue to rise as a pop star in her own right – while also breaking the ideas and trope of what it actually means to be one.