An attempt to talk about the whole Soko gig and not just the bit where everyone got naked

30 March 2015, 09:15 | Written by

(Live)

(SOKO)

Soko has never been one to do things by the book. Having first come to prominence in 2007, she soon found herself alienated by corporate PR and pushy labels hell-bent on shoe-horning her trademark quirkiness into something more palatable to the mainstream. This led to a dramatic "retirement" from the music business only two years later (on MySpace, as was the style at the time) before reviving her career in 2011, albeit in a way more aligned with her bohemian principles.

Fast-forward to 2015, and "Soko" (her childhood nickname) remains a rather unique proposition. She's collaborated with everyone from Spike Jonze to Ariel Pink, is a fixture on style blogs and may, on paper, sound like your garden-variety fashionista. But at heart she's the same manic, impish figure as she was eight years ago; an artist dedicated to her craft and her fans (and occasionally, taking the piss out of Ariel Pink) more than maintaining an air of studied rock 'n roll cool.

This becomes apparent from the very first song tonight - she's a very energetic, earnest, at times aggressive performer, swaying back and forth as she hammers keyboards, her eyes ceaselessly moving around the room trying to take everything in rather than fixing them at a point in the middle distance like so many artistes. She is someone who clearly relishes the stage not for fame or fortune, but because she loves the effect her music and, more significantly, her lyrics have on her predominantly youthful fanbase (at one point she drags one of her biggest fans on stage to join her, to thank them for all their support.) It's just a pity the live arrangements of her songs aren't always as compelling as her personality- whilst her recorded output marries her deeply personal, honest lyric style to a wide palette of musical influences, the barrage of one-paced indie-pop we experience tonight dulls the potency of her words, and prevents the show from reaching its full cathartic potential.

The section of the gig that received the most attention on social media, somewhat inevitably, is the part where she melded her anthem to weirdos and outcasts, "I Thought I Was An Alien" with her stated support of the "Free The Nipple" campaign by calling upon the audience to join her on stage and remove their tops. It's certainly one of her most charming and relatable songs, and obviously it's not every day you experience such a degree of public nudity on stage (unless of course, you head across the street to some of Soho's dingier alleys). But the show's highlight comes when she strips it all back, banishes her band to the dressing room, and lets her husky, unpolished but compelling voice weave its magic without any distractions or randomly displays of nakedness. Soko wouldn't be Soko with a little (or indeed, a lot of) chaos, but sometimes less is indubitably more.