Twixtmas can be a long, grey, dull time: Norwich-based art rock outfit KlangHaus are clearly on a (now intergalactic) mission to change that.
Their new show The Big Loop crashes comet-like into a city-centre house in a riot of noise and colour, with a series of one hour performances in the otherwise humdrum days between Christmas and the resumption of ‘normal life’.
Around 20 audience members per set shuffle into the house, and perch on an array of stools, settees and – my favourite – a sub bass so loud you can feel the air rushing past your legs. Projections appear on the walls and a central semi-transparent screen, as performers from The Neutrinos move among them.
The concept has evolved over many years and venues, but has regularly returned to Norwich for an end of year outing. This year’s show takes its name from both the annual orbit of the Earth and NASA’s communication system that serves the International Space Station, but the theme is worn pretty lightly.
Artist Sal Pittman’s visuals include starscapes and other galactic scenes, but they morph into a Ferris wheel, or children on a swing, with their colourful, mesmeric movements overlaying each other, or interrupted by the band’s shadows thanks to the see-through screen in the middle of the room.
The music itself is at times blisteringly loud, with Jon Baker, Mark Howe, and Jeron Gundersen’s instrumentation taking first chair; the drums particularly really ricochet in this constrained space. At other points it is lullaby like in its gentleness, allowing Karen Reilly’s vocals to fill the room. The two states co-exist in the number that both opens and closes the show.
It is all underpinned with a gentleness and humour, especially from Howe as MC, that ensures what could be chaotic bombast actually emerges as a coherent, compelling and cosmically magical show.
- KlangHaus: The Big Loop continues until 3 January 2026, tickets £5.50-£25.50, or £30-£50 for New Year’s Eve shows.
