Assuring the crowd at Splendour that his name is in fact Andrew Wyatt and not Miike Snow did not stop punters yelling out ‘Miike!’ during the band’s sideshow at The Forum last Wednesday night. The Swedish collective nevertheless hypnotised and awed spectators with their live performance, and whatever names that were called out remained inaudible at best.

The slightly awkward structure of The Forum did not stop patrons from wending their way to the front as the band appeared on stage amidst a cloud of smoke. Wearing blank white masks and matching plaid jackets in a deep shade of crimson, the band emitted an eerie and enigmatic aura. The steady drumbeat of Cult Logic opened the set and charmed audiences as Wyatt warmed up his vocals, singing through a gap in his ivory facial disguise and hitting the high falsettos with ease.

The playful introductory notes of Burial saw the crowd become slightly more animated. For those that recognised other songs off the eponymous album, lyrics were enthusiastically repeated. For the rest, the pulsing stage lights captured their attention. Black & Blue followed in a similar vein with a few handclaps thrown into the fray. A Horse Is Not A Home brought a fresh wave of epileptic, luminescent flashing that intensified the atmosphere, if not the crowd out the back; punters at the front needed no encouragement.

A new track was dropped into the set list at this point. With a thumping beat, The Rabbit is much more dancey; the synths on stage worked overtime to produce a song that would not go astray on a throbbing dancefloor.

Taking up his position at the piano, Wyatt pounded out the opening notes to Silvia while punters did their best to provide backing harmonies. As a personal highlight, the song was executed beautifully, from the billowing clouds of fog that encased the front man at the introduction to the way in which the track built up and climaxed to include a punching drumbeat and astounding light spectacle that pulsated and flickered in and out at a dizzying speed. At most, all that could be seen were the shadows of the members cast onto the back wall where they towered over 8 feet tall next to the famous antlered rabbit motif.

Sans Soleil toned down the intensity with crooning vocals before the throbbing beats of Plastic Jungle took hold of the venue with its electronic distortions, creating an aurally pleasing effect.

To nobody’s surprise, the most enlivened the audience ever became was during the final song, Animal. With a heavier pounding beat in the live set, the song injected a dose of vigour into each punter as hands were raised and a select few bodies were borne atop shoulders. Light spasms persevered whilst the band bobbed up and down to the infectious rhythm, well aware that the crowd was now at their mercy as they extended the song for a few more minutes before disappearing off stage as inconspicuously as they appeared on.

It did not take long for spectators to realise the boys were missing. Rousing shouts of encore were echoed throughout the vicinity before stalking silhouettes re-emerged from the shadows to take up their positions behind still-hot instruments. The rapid notes of In Search Of instigated the encore performance, quickly turning into an extended jam of warped electronic frequencies and sounds. Again mesmerised by the light exhibition that accompanied the track, many patrons were reduced to just staring. The pumping rhythm showed no sign of abating so when most of the band prowled off stage, audiences were surprised to find only one member left, manning the synth and continuing to push out the electronic beats before letting the last resounding note drop, after which he, too, exited the stage.

A visually stunning live performance that built intensity with fluctuating bright lights and atmospheric white smoke, it’s a shame the same could not be said of the audience who – for the most part – remained docile. But for the few who churned out the lyrics and the moves, the sweaty smiles on their faces lay evidence to an incredible set that delivered in jaw-dropping aesthetics as it did in stimulating sound.