MS MR live at XOYO

MS MR ooze New York City (their hometown). Comprised of Lizzie Plapinger (MS) and Max Hershenow (MR), this fiery duo owns the stage with a sexy confidence and symbiotic sway, engaging the audience with their unique blend of dream-synth angst.

A blue-haired Plapinger struts and shimmies in skin-tight disco pants, fire engine red wedges and matching crop top. She’s not easy to ignore, as she not so much sings, as purrs lyrics of love and life over the ethereal synth waves provided by her keyboard stomping accomplice – equally striking in Peewee Herman-esque plaid suit and bleach-blonde pompadour.

Backed by a spirited bassist/keyboard modulator extraordinaire, and a forceful drummer, MS MR played tracks from their latest EP Candy Bar Creep Show, including Bones, an audience favourite in the über trendy Shoreditch XOYO club, fitting the scene with brooding smoke machines, neon lights and Lametta tinsel, accented with thrift-store candelabras and a Styrofoam head (thrown into the audience after only two songs). Accentuated by their trademark potent vocal harmonies, Salty Sweet provided more of an EDM feel to the evening, with Plapinger exclaiming “Monday night? Let’s make it feel like a f**king Saturday!” to raucous applause.

The show marked MS MR’s third time playing in the UK, and new single Fantasy highlighted their growing success. The band’s good fortune is perhaps unsurprising given they are fronted by the owner of an NYC-based independent label, Neon Gold Records (known for helping such bands as Passion Pit and Walk The Moon to name but a few). 

With a predestined foot in the door, it’s clear MS MR are setting out to prove themselves as hard-working equals in their own right.  Penultimate track Hurricane (and their most well known for having done the internet buzz-band rounds) showcases Plapinger’s inbuilt vocal tremolo and snarling ambience, creating a haunting wall of new wave glam, before providing an encore with a souped-up cover of Patrick Wolf’s Time of My Life.

In short, MS MR are not to be missed, mister.

Verdict: ••••                                                          

Victoria Sanz-Henry

Photos: Laura Cunliffe

For further information about MS MR and future events, click here. 

Watch the video for Fantasy here