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When it comes to cool, Santigold has it licked. An NYC hipster with links to Mark Ronson, Chromeo, Pharrell Williams and many more, with cool comes a distance from commercialism and while Santigold is adored by her fashionable following, has yet to experience much in the way of crossover success. However, with the release of her second album, 'Master Of My Make Believe' this week, all this could change - especially when she is putting on performances as polished as her London show this week.
Taking to the stage in a neon, military-esque outfit that falls somewhere between the black power movement of the seventies mixed with the Playschool TV show of the eighties, Santigold is joined by a full band and two backing dancers. They are joined by a pantomime horse at one point, although we have no idea why.
Bravely, Santigold opens the show with two of the biggest hits from her debut album, 'LES Artistes' and 'Lights Off', showing confidence that her new material can fill the latter half of the show. Tracks such as 'Disparate Youth' and 'Fame' certainly do the business, but with so many mid-tempo tracks on 'Master Of My Make Believe', the final quarter of the show blurs into a muddle of reggae beats and it is left to breakthrough track 'Creator' to re-energise the performance as Santigold invites audience members onto the stage to dance with her.
Santigold's vocals are flawless throughout the show, and she even manages three costume changes across the hour-long performance. She closes with new track, the brilliant 'Big Mouth', which packs as much punch as her earlier hits, ending the show on a high with it's tribal beats and producer Switch's breathless production. A high quality show from start to finish, it's just a shame more thought didn't go into the running order and that we didn't see more of that pantomime horse.
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