Susanne Sundfør at Deaf Institute review

Image: Susanne Sundfør

On a night when the fire alarm sounded mid-set, Susanne Sundfør was the only figure smoking in the building. Unquestioningly at the peak of her powers, she was both vivacious and enthralling in her appeal, leaving no stone unturned as to why she's top the charts three time in her homeland.

For such an empowering spectacle, what struck most was the fact that Susanne and her band weren't commanding a vaster space. 

Deaf Institute holds a distinct charm, a stall of seats slope down to a rather free spirited room with parrots patterned on the wallpaper, retro speakers overhanging the bar and a giant disco ball aloft the music hall. 

The intimacy and character of the room gave the gig a distinct exclusivity, even more so when an all white clothed band made their way on stage to ease proceedings with a meditative rendition of 'Lullaby', while Sundfør crouched down into the mic for the entirety.

She rose to her feet for the fizzing synth riff of 'Kamikaze', inviting the audience to loosen up with each every stab of the key. That was at least until the fire alarm sounded mid-set, presumably due to the smoky cloud encompassing the stage.

Eventually the band re-emerged, with Sundfør surprisingly relaxed and amusingly stating, "Sorry about that, it's something we like to do in our show." And just like that she transitioned from potential disaster to the slow burning 'Trust Me' like the slipping of a silk night gown. 

Sundfør's cornerstone perhaps lies in the avant-garde sound scapes that glitch, loop and build to captivating atmospherics to add another dimension to her scintillating operatic and absorbing presence. 

The looping percussive beats of 'Accelerate' drew significant cheers from the audience as the crowd favourite reigned its way into the set. Just like on Ten Love Songs, the band medley an outro into the spiralling key tones and soothing harmonies of 'Fade Away' to form a particularly pleasing moment. 

'Insects' gave the set its most left-field tilt; high-pitched modular synths permeated the room with flickering green nights to match, as the song swathed in thunderous textures to an eventual booming drum sequence.

Rarely veering from her latest opus all night, Sundfør opted to end the evening with 'Silicon Veil', a song that invites the orchestral direction of her previous album of the same title. 

What's telling is that for the entirety all eyes were fixated on Susanne Sundfør's elegantly imposing figure. Whether firing off a synth spun gem or delivering a fluttering ballad, Sundfør struck the right balance with a show that oozed elite artistry, and was applauded accordingly at each and every juncture. 

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