Empire of the Sun at Alexandra Palace

Empire of the Sun’s live show looks like Guillermo del Toro directed a space opera.

This Alexandra Palace debut had to be bolted onto an existing three-show run following massive demand. It certainly shows: despite red heat warnings and transport delays, a pilgrimage of loyal Empyreans braved the hill climb to the venue.

The Ask That God tour celebrates the eponymous 2024 album. It continues their glossy, palatable style that reliably generates one or two hits on each release. Covering their 18-year discography, the setlist regularly punches out crowd pleasers – more than enough to hold the audience’s attention through the heat.

Many of their smooth productions grow to stadium-ready anthems when performed on stage. Mounting to increasingly climactic crescendos, it’s as if each song has to one-up the last. Their biggest hit We Are the People features a beefed-up bassline and Phil Collins-esque drum solo. Music on the Radio hints towards French Touch in its pumping synth lines – arguably drawing from Justice or early Daft Punk.

While the constant crescendos get tiring, the sound must keep up with dazzling visuals. The band members perform in the shadow of two gigantic human heads, looming like the remains of an alien civilisation. This production is particularly ill-suited to a heat wave, but it doesn’t show. The dancers deserve an endurance award for bearing the heat in full-body costumes, switching from human disco balls to winged bat-like creatures in minutes.

Appearing among all the human-led work, some visuals crop up with the uncanny sheen of AI. This is a disappointing shortcut for a band to take, particularly one with their creative and financial resources, even if it does capture the 80s sci-fi-epic style quite well.

All the melodrama couldn’t be pulled off without frontman Luke Steele leading the charge. The project’s co-founder, Nick Littlemore, keeps to the studio, so Steele’s on-stage antics are the focal point. From interviewing his octopus-alien friend to touching a digital hand of God, he leans into the show’s campiness in a self-aware and thoroughly enjoyable way.

During the final number, Alive Steele smashes his guitar to bits – at this point, there aren’t many other avenues to explore, so fair enough.