Mutya Keisha Siobhan – Scala, London 01/08/13

You all remember the year: everyone was obsessed with Leonardo DiCapro’s trip to Koh Phi Phi while co-written mainstream pop dominated the as of yet untouched by illegal download charts. 2000AD seemed to have a certain sheen, an effortless allure – something which Mutya Keisha Siobhan manage to recreate pretty perfectly this evening despite past feuds.

Perfectly placed to tap into our increasingly present obsession with nostalgia, MKS waste no time getting to the heart of who they are this evening: Opening the set with debut album main stay ‘Overload’ it’s almost like the last 13 years never happened. Siobhán Donaghy, Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan exchange knowing glances, shimmying around the stage like this is what they had planned all along.

Knowing that two out of the three present tonight last took to the Scala’s stage back in 2002 whilst promoting their second record Angels With Dirty Faces, it is impossible to ignore Heidi Grange’s contribution to what the name Sugababes means, or at least, meant, but essentially – as one man joyously shouted out mid-set – you “don’t fuck with the originals.” There was always something missing without Siobhan as the impressive run of new songs ’I’m Alright’, ‘Love Me Hard’ ‘Boys’ and ‘Today’ makes clear. ‘Love Me Hard’ is a racier number that Richard “Biff” Stannard has had his hand in, while ‘I’m Alright’ fits perfectly in line with classics like ‘Run For Cover’ and ‘Today’ sounds like single material.

The hour races by and before you know it Keisha’s asking “how many freaks do we have inside?” It’s choreographed to a T. Everything is understated. They could have done so much more with the stage show but they don’t need to. This is just how we imagined it should be. And even when Mutya fumbles the end of ‘Freak Like Me’ no one cares, there are no mistakes this evening.

The encore brings a flawless rendition of ‘Lay Me Down in Swimming Pools’, their Dev Hynes (who is looking on from the back of the room) produced, Kendrick Lamar splicing creation. “We want to thank you all so much. I know it sounds corny but without your support we wouldn’t have had the motivation to do this” Keisha cries. ‘Flatline’, along with every other new song, stands up to the core of the trio’s original material. Not surpassing it but taking the formula and updating it with just the right amount of nuance to sound fresh to new ears. A mini diversion into ‘Push The Button’ certainly doesn’t hinder things either.

Despite the deafening chants and still grooving bodies in the crowd, Mutya Keisa Siobhan disappear, leaving us with the news that they really hope they’ll be able to release a new record some time soon. If tonight’s new material is a sign of things to come, we hope so too.

Setlist
Overload
Run for Cover
I’m Alright
Stronger
Love Me Hard
Boys
Today
No Regrets
Metal Heart
Freak Like Me
–
Lay Down In Swimming Pools
Flatline w/Push The Button