As they tour the world in support of their sophomore record Silent Treatment – their first to garner an international release – Norwegian quintet Highasakite are in Australia this week for the first time, stopping off for some intimate performances at Oxford Art Factory in Sydney and on Saturday at Howler in Melbourne.
I went to the gig tonight in Sydney completely unfamiliar with their material bar this amazing live video and their recent single “Since Last Wednesday” which has been doing the rounds. Often this makes it difficult to get into a gig, but the band have clearly gotten used to playing to crowds of unfamiliar faces. Between the music, their (limited… okay, general lack of) banter and the elegant light show, a stage covered in globes, they ensured they were never without our attention.
The ambience kicked off before they hit the stage, growing like a wave, setting a mood intended to pull the crowd in, as they arrived, assuming their positions, bow in hand in front of the guitar, electric drum kit primed and ready. A brief pause and lead vocalist Ingrid Helene Håvik comes in, immediately impressing with strong, assured vocals on “Lover, Where Do You Live?”, “…it would be nice to come home I guess…”. More lights build. The music grows. “…In the skies in the clouds in the oceans…” and the backing vocalists kick in “…send shivers down your spine…”, which they were. A spellbinding opening.
It’s the little things that make a live show stand apart. The aforementioned live video “Leaving No Traces” followed, the lights kicking in at full blast, globes around and a bright burst behind, seemingly all members joining in on backing vocals. Their dynamic was hypnotic, both musically and in presentation. Meanwhile, their clearly talented guitarist Kristoffer Lo, who had just replaced his bow with a pick, now became the trumpeter (or… Flugabone…ist) for song three, “Hiroshima”, which started to bring the fans in the room out, as did “Darth Vader”, which saw a nearby group don Vader masks. I may not have been alone in being unfamiliar with their repertoire, but plenty of the room sat at the other end of that spectrum too!
Musically, there’s a wealth of influence going on here. You hear the pop, radio friendly sounds of bands like Of Monsters and Men, the instrumental experimentation of Sigur Ros and the “big band” quality of an Arcade Fire or a Typhoon. Vocally, Ingrid is at times angelic and at others poptastic and even a little R&B / Soul, in that Amy Winehouse kind of way.
Half an hour in, it starts to wear on you when you don’t know the material, and the Norwegian accent makes it hard to pick up the lyrics, but in doing so the best moments really stick out amongst the pack. The xylophone heavy, chant like “My Soldier” was a standout, while “Iran” had some nice attitude, and had the room dancing. Though the African Drums (played by lead Ingrid) of their single “Since Last Wednesday” may have been the night’s brightest moment, with the main set ending with what may have been a Coldplay number. They returned briefly for a one track encore that returned the bow and tied the set up nicely, wrapping things up with a similar atmosphere we enjoyed at the start.
With the brief tour presented by Laneway, one can only guess that this is just a tease for a bigger tour in the New Year, which gives you plenty of time to get familiar with their recorded material. Myself included! Until then, this was not a bad way to get introduced to Norway’s much lauded export.
The band play Howler in Melbourne on Saturday night. Silent Treatment is out now.
