Angine de Poitrine at Electric Ballroom

Trying to describe Angine de Poitrine to someone who’s never heard of them is a bit of a feat. The concept – a pair of anonymous musicians whose name essentially means “chest pain”, serving up microtonal math rock while sporting huge papier-mâché alien masks and body paint – may sound completely outrageous, but it may well be single-handedly making music fun again.

The Quebec duo, who go by Khn and Klek de Poitrine, brought their polka-dot-covered stroke of genius to London, and those lucky enough to secure a ticket to their show at the Electric Ballroom got to witness why they’re one of music’s hottest tickets at the moment.

Khn, with an upside-down pyramid head, dollar-bill eyes and a long Pinocchio nose, serves double duty as guitarist and bassist, his arsenal including a double-necked guitar/bass hybrid and an impressive pedal setup, while Klek, whose dangly nose swings like a metronome, pounds away at the polka-dot drum kit like a one-man army. Aside from the dots, which cover their instruments, the stage and merch stand – as well as several fans who have dressed for the occasion – both sport gold pyramids that light up.

With the absence of synths, it’s interesting that the music itself isn’t stereotypically “alien”, and using a pretty rudimentary rock’n’roll setup, the force of the sound that comes from just two musicians is utterly transfixing. It’s a show like no other; song titles are mostly nonsensical, there are no lyrics, and neither of them speaks, save for a few alien-like sounds, communicating instead by making a pyramid shape with their hands, which the audience returns as a sign of connection.

A rare sight for a show nowadays, people actually put away their phones after the first few songs, and by the time Khn and Klek get to favourite Mata Zyklek, a moshpit has formed, and a few crowdsurfers have emerged.

Even with all the bells and whistles, the music is the star of the show, and their skill and talent are undeniable – the sounds coming from Khn’s fingers are truly otherworldly, and Klek never misses a beat, keeping perfect time as each song brings the audience into a trance-like state. But without getting too technical, what sets this band apart is their playfulness and their refusal to take themselves too seriously, despite obviously being serious musicians.

It’s a joy to see fans completely immersed in the experience, following cues and making the pyramid signal, bouncing up and down in unison, but also singing along to the music in Sarniezz, even if there are no lyrics. The duo end the show with their most popular tracks, Fabienk and Sherpa, the latter stretching for a little over ten minutes.

It takes real skill to keep a captive audience without uttering a single word, and while Angine de Poitrine are a very impressive and entertaining act, it will be interesting to see how they’ll make it last. As rumours around their identity swirl, their allure is undeniable, and so is their talent. At the same time, it makes you wonder if they’ll be just a passing novelty or whether they’ll manage to keep people’s attention long enough to record more music – or if they even intend to.