Electric, Brixton
“Amor inquieto, amor drogado, amor completo."
Love bears all its forms as Mon Laferte proclaims her Chilean-Mexican roots; an illustriously theatrical set which reincarnates bolero, cumbia and salsa with insatiably modern twists of sensualised pop and rock.
Clamouring together the arrayed sounds of Latin America, both old and new, to more contemporary times has been nothing new of late. Mexican singer-songwriter Natalia Lafourcade remains a stalwart for her emotive and unmatched bridging of traditional Mexican folk with modern songwriting and instrumentation, whilst both Silvana Estrada and Ximena Sariñana have garnered numerous Grammy nominations for their alternative inflections amidst their more recent folk and pop-inspired efforts.
Accentuated on her latest LP, Autopoiética, Laferte commands herself amongst the more dramatic and theatrical spectrum on this contemporary wave. Commencing tonight’s odyssean performance, she begins a mere silhouette; clad in a bright-red, burlesque corset, demanding toward the crowd, “Cuánto le costó? Quién la cogió?”; culminating with two simple words: “nuestra muerte”.
Slower, rhythmically-off-beat cumbia sensations imminently permit the crowd to dance and sway with one another; underpinned by a love-afflicted affair which sees Laferte’s auto-tuned, straining vocals surge to the fore of ‘Te Juro Que Volveré’. ‘Pornocracia’ transcends these rhythms into the hyper-sensualised (and sexualised) tropes rife within her latest material, a recreation of her repertoire which is met with whoops and hollers from the crowd as the sensual antics on-stage ensue with her fellow dancers.
Whilst some tracks from her recent LP fail to strike certain chords, notably ‘No+Sad’, the gathered crowd remain venerably enamoured with Laferte; closely watching each step and swerve, as she caressingly intermingles with her pair of backing dancers and extensive band. Yet the crowd revel most within the upbeat, dance-frenzied tracks, including standout ‘Metamorfosis’, which rings with a keenness for salsa’s rhythms and melodic hooks, reminiscent to that of Nathy Peluso’s glowing repertoire from this realm.
As tonight’s set delves deeper into Laferte’s previous discography, the realms of her love-torn voice knows no bounds. ‘Tormento’ accentuates forthright lyricism bolstered by the wailing brass in the background (“Nadie más te amará / Cómo te pude amar?”), whilst ‘Aunque te Mueras por Volver’ and ‘Antes de Ti’ both illustrate the impressive characteristics of her singing, whose growls and gripes remain reminiscent of Björk. Beyond the pervasive grandiosity of Laferte’s repertoire, which has enamoured the crowd thus far, an ode to Edith Piaf’s ‘La Vie en Rose’ plays out: a tangential offering for those romantic love-seekers; emboldened by the impressively-matched vocals of Laferte which saturate with conviction.
Whilst the evening concludes on the heartbreaking ‘Amor Completo’, along with the questionable recital of ‘Casta Diva’, Mon Laferte proves herself triumphant tonight amongst the myriad communities gathered to witness a homegrown star. Armed with an extensive entourage, who at times remain superfluous and dispensable, tonight’s set exudes an unbridled pride birthed from such genres; tied together by an otherworldly voice. A voice doused in all forms of love, all kinds of tribulations, transcending all in transformative style.
8/10
Mon Laferte's latest LP, Autopoiética, is out now via Universal Music México and can be found below.
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