Nostalgic, zeitgeist-attuned pop at its finest: Santigold live in London

Santigold’s emergence in 2008 was so refreshing, because she was the exact opposite of these acts. Here was a true creator, a disciple of Devo, a lover of Siouxsie Sioux, playing at pop with talent, style and ingenuity. Santi White was a Rum Punch in a sea of Red Stripes.

Eight years down the line, Santigold’s pop project remains creative, distinctive and diverse – though it does face the constant challenge of living up to its sensational initial success. Songs from Santi’s second and third albums, Master of My Make-Believe (2012) and 99¢ (2016) only narrowly outnumber tracks from her self-titled debut album on the setlist tonight (21 June) at the Brixton Electric.

That’s a shame in a way, as some of these newer tracks are the clear highlights of the show. Recent single "Chasing Shadows" is a kitsch-pop gem with a piano pulse a la "It’s a Hard Knock Life", brilliantly punctuated by Santi’s staccato vocals. Dreamily nostalgic, genre-melding and zeitgeist-attuned, this is pop music at its finest.

Then there’s "Disparate Youth", which is so much more than the catchy advert soundtrack your parents may well know it as – in our eyes, it was one of the most uplifting and beautiful pop songs of its day. It’s rapturously received here in Brixton, while a bubble machine floods the room with its glistening progeny.

Which brings us on to the subject of staging. The outfits, the visuals, the dance routines that ornament the set all refer to Santigold’s latest album, 99¢. The theme is a sort of parody of hyper-consumerism and the narcissism that goes with it, from junk food and selfie-sticks to the various slogan-printed outfits worn by Santi and her matching pairs of dancers and backing musicians. This would all work well as an immediate companion to 99¢; but in the context of a set packed with older tracks, it lacks bite and sometimes seems too divorced from the musical content.

That’s not intended to detract from the fact that there is a huge amount of artful composition and entertainment value on offer here. "L.E.S. Artistes" is majestic as ever, "Shove It" is a confrontational masterpiece of modern dub, and "Lights Out" still hits that rarely occupied sweet spot between lullaby and new wave anthem. Santi herself is in fine voice, and her backing band – though sometimes hard to pick out against what seems to be a pretty expansive backing track – sound inch perfect.

Creating energy at a gig is a two-way street, and at times it seems like the audience isn’t holding up its half of the bargain – but full credit to Santi for just about getting them going by sanctioning a stage invasion at the start of "Creator". Perhaps failing to grasp the satirical intent of the band’s selfie stick-wielding dancers, a few of the fans invited on-stage are quick to slip phones from pockets with a view to documenting their brush with fame. Santigold’s not having any of it.

It’s strange to think that when Santigold started out, some of these people didn’t own a ‘camera-phone’ worth taking a selfie with – and it’s poignant to think that some wouldn’t have even thought to take one. The music scene has changed a lot since those days, and our heroine has changed with it, but we’re glad to say that tonight’s show offered the hard proof that Santigold still has the genre-bending talent and creative edge that won us over in the first place.