GLASS CANDY AND THE SHATTERED THEATRE - Iko Iko

Like nocturnal entities that cyclically swoop down on the earthly globe to unsettle it, ensnare it, seduce it, sniggering behind the backs of their poor victims, the little witches return, faithful to the tradition/devotion to glam/dark/no wave polytheism, a kaleidoscope of self-centred characters, academics of themselves, aesthetes just enough to earn that aura of cool. Taking the point of view of a frantic, drunken dance, Ida No, who had already scored a hit in 2004 with "Love, Love, Love", keeps pouring fuel on the fire already lit, between tours and CDRs; "Iko Iko", recorded at the end of December 2004, was released in July 2005 by Troubleman Unlimited, and in Europe it was immediately snapped up, along with a good part of Glass Candy And The Shattered Theatre's discography, by Rough Trade.

The stage outfits, apart from a bit of bleaching/degeneration, remain identical: Ida has fun, shows herself off, and, without indulging in any silliness, sings her delirium with defiance and pride.

Highly enjoyable and rubbery is the intro/cover of Sugar Boy & the Cane Cutters' ("Iko"), with the fluorescent colours of certain surreal Japanese student parties, more inclined towards the West than bowing to the Land of the Rising Sun.

A rockabilly guitar opens the multiform "Lovi'n Machine", whose vocals shift with ease from Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs-style provocations (an artificial sister, sharper and more hysterical), to lunar glam warbles straight out of Bowie's playbook. What follows is irreverent: a phone conversation of a romantic nature ends with the receiver thrown to the ground, only to go on shouting its own reasons, as furious as Poly Styrene, offering up an "a cappella" title track, acid and delivered with fervour.

A thoroughly Siouxsie-esque episode is the more metallic version of "Lovi'n Machine", easily mistaken for an old vinyl record if dropped into the heart of an 80s-flavoured DJ set.

In closing, the new wave keyboards pay fitting tribute to the robotic automatisms that, smothered by the overflow of genres/trends, are resurrected in today's disco-punk.

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30/04/2026