Warhaus

Presented by AGDL. Warhaus, the solo project of Maarten Devoldere, has long been synonymous with dandyish pop that is as elegant as it is excellent. Yet on The Donkey, his fifth studio album, he seems to have surrendered to something more instinctive, more primal.

Picture hypnotic lyrics, raw vocals, tribal rhythms inspired by South African Gqom and catchy grooves tinged with grime, conjuring images of feverish, undulating bodies.

Listening to the latest tracks, Simple Pleasures and The Baby, one can reasonably wonder what this new duality will look like on stage. Will the show be imbued with the refined elegance suggested by Simple Pleasures?

Or will the hall turn into a stifling club at closing time, in keeping with the wild, gripping howl of The Baby? Warhaus refuses to choose. Why settle when you can have both?

Naturally, Devoldere will draw generously from the exhilarating new tracks running through The Donkey, while revisiting the more refined pop songs and familiar classics that now form part of the Warhaus repertoire.

Every ingredient is in place to draw the audience into a delicious loss of bearings, until the line between ecstasy and exhaustion begins to blur. Or, as The Donkey predicts from its very first minute: 'You better think before you're gonna play with matches / It's gonna burn'.

Bang! © AGDL