Dizzying Fun: Angine de Poitrine Back Up The Hype at Debut London Show
Thursday, 14 May 2026
Written by Matt Mills
Photo: Constantin Monfilliette
Imagine Primus doing all the drugs in the world while binge-watching every episode of The Muppet Show, and you can begin to picture how weird Angine de Poitrine are. The Québécois pairing went viral out of nowhere thanks to a KEXP live session earlier this year, with people being instantly captivated by whatever the hell it was they were watching. The questions were countless: who are they? Why are they dressed like that? And why do they have the most phallic noses this side of Michael Gove’s Spitting Image puppet?
But, the most immediate, important and impressive query was, how did these two take something as nerdy as microtonal math rock and make it catchy enough for mass consumption? In a world where your algorithm tirelessly serves AI slop and artists cashing in on trends, it was a welcome blast of befuddlement. Some 14 million YouTube views later, every comment is a mix of awe, admiration and confusion.
This is what we do know. Named after the French term for the heart condition angina pectoris, Angine de Poitrine are an anonymous force who started in Saguenay, Canada in 2019. Their members are guitarist/bassist Khn (the one who looks like Lady Gaga’s possible lovechild with Chris Fehn from Slipknot) and drummer Klek (the one who looks like Lord Buckethead has stapled a half-inflated balloon to his face). They love polka dots and loop stations to an extreme degree, and when they’re not conversing in a garbled alien language, they dish out high-energy, metronome-busting songs built around hooks as strange as they are irresistible.
Tonight’s gig at the 1,500-capacity Electric Ballroom marks the band’s London debut; it’s also, following their surprise surge in popularity three months ago, long since sold-out. The audience show their commitment by making triangles above their heads, imitating the symbol on Khn’s inverse-pyramid helmet, before squealing with delight at the notes-between-notes riff at the start of opener Angor. Follow-up track Yor Zarad cranks that passion up to 11, as its borderline-metallic intensity incites a mosh-pit and crowd-surfing.
Almost every masked band to have gone viral so far, especially that one whose name rhymes with Sheep Broken, conceal themselves in a fog of over-seriousness. So, it’s a breath of fresh air to see this one actually lean into the joy their music brings. Klek bleeps, bloops and grumbles at people in between songs. During a faux-country hoedown midway through Tamebsz, he and Khn look out, extend their arms and bend their knees in time with the twanging riff, encouraging everyone else to do the same. Odd, fun and involving, it fits their brand to a tee.
Other songs, especially Sarniezz and Fabienk, demonstrate the real-world impact of that internet-breaking KEXP session. Both are from the brand-new album ‘Vol. II’, and both have gobbledygook names, yet because they were performed in that breakthrough 27-minute video, they’re greeted like old friends at a wedding. The former even gets the room to whoa and sing along, and when was the last time the world saw that from an instrumental avant-rock band? If anyone were to ever suggest that Angine de Poitrine’s success is style over substance, gimmickry over craftsmanship, then this moment is the ultimate clapback.
The alien sojourn briefly crashes to Earth during Utzp as one of Klek’s drum mics packs in while trying to relay all of this lunacy to the rest of the venue. But the band ride out the mishap in style, laying down a short improv jam as stagehands hurry onstage. By the time Sherpa concludes the night not long after, the technical fault seems to be a long-forgotten memory. It suggests that this outfit, who’ve been rushed into the spotlight way faster than they probably expected, have a professionalism worthy of their position.
Chants of “one more song!” ring out as the twosome step off of the stage, and although they don’t return tonight, the good news is that more will come in the very near future. Following the lightspeed sell-outs of this entire UK run, the band will be back in the autumn, and the London stop is for two nights at the 3,600-capacity Troxy. That venue is more than double the size of this one – and it, too, has already sold out twice over, five months in advance.
While internet success is often fleeting, it appears that Angine de Poitrine are striking all the right chords to endure. They look funny and they sound bizarre, sure, but beneath all of that is legitimately more-ish and inventive melody-writing. They know what’s made them huge, and tonight, they embrace it without becoming caricatures of themselves. In fact, they do what every lasting, beloved band does: play music that makes the people around them go mad.
Angine de Poitrine Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Tue October 13 2026 - BRISTOL Prospect Building
Wed October 14 2026 - GLASGOW O2 Academy Glasgow
Fri October 16 2026 - DUBLIN Vicar Street
Sun October 18 2026 - LEEDS O2 Academy Leeds
Mon October 19 2026 - LONDON Troxy
Tue October 20 2026 - LONDON Troxy
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