IAMX at O2 Academy Islington, 29.04.2025

There isn’t a set of words to fully describe finally seeing an artist who soundtracked your formative years live for the first time. I spent my uni weekends partying to electroclash DJs in small queer friendly venues around Cracow in Poland and inevitably, the morning after, IAMX‘s ‘After Every Party I Die’ would have its ceremonial blast through the speakers of my student flat. His 2004 LP Kiss and Swallow and 2006’s The Alternative captured the zeitgeist of my group of friends perfectly and we were all hooked.

As I approached O2 Academy Islington 20 years later, on a casual Tuesday evening, I felt an instant sense of community with the crowd queueing to get in. Gauging people’s ages at a glance, a lot of us had similar experiences with Chris Corner’s project and his music still has a strong hold over us, as well as attracting new audiences.

Holy Braille

Opening the night’s proceedings were harsh wave duo Holy Braille from Sunderland, who went down an absolute treat with the London crowd. They delivered a powerful set of heavy industrial noise, dark wave computer punk that would have been perfect for Electrowerkz around the corner, and judging from the amount of mesh, fishnets and platforms in the room – this was exactly the crowd to appreciate it, with awe struck faces and appreciative nods across the front rows. Elliot’s masterful synth work combined with Steph’s powerful vocals reminded me of the early IAMX records, took me back to my electroclash youth (with more of an industrial spin) – if you like Arch Femmesis, Ladytron or Fluff, they will be up your street.

With only a handful of singles out, their set took us through most of them, with ‘Guillotine’, ‘White Light’, ‘Murder She Spoke’ and ‘Able’ being particular stand outs. They have magnetic stage presence and great rapport with the audience (including an impromptu dance across the photo pit from Elliot). It was my first time coming across them and I will certainly keep my eye out for them – if your festival calendar has any room in it and you find yourself in Manchester in August, they play the stacked Infest – any fans of goth, industrial sounds should not sleep on Holy Braille.

IAMX

After a long changeover, the crowd was bursting in anticipation for the main event of the night and soon enough, Chris Corner erupted onto the stage to bring the Fault Lines2 tour to London. IAMX has become a genre bending project of which Chris is the living embodiment and the confessional style of his lyrics, placed against the backdrop of pumping electronic beats and strobing projections, create an electric atmosphere. An androgynous silhouette with barbed rabbit ears headpiece and intricate feather and lace mask, IAMX delivered a staggering performance.

Launching into ‘Disciple’ and ‘The X ID’ from Fault Lines1, the 2023 predecessor to Fault Lines2, IAMX spoke directly to the devoted fanbase:

Believe in me, worship me
You will be always protected

This is why, two decades since IAMX released Kiss + Swallow, the community he created keeps growing strong: a safe space for misfits of all shapes and sizes. And we didn’t have to wait too long for a throw back to that seminal album, with ‘Sailor’ ringing out as the third song, and signalling the intimate, explicit part of the set, swiftly followed by ‘Aphrodisiac’ from 2015’s Metanoia – but it didn’t feel like a throw back at all. The sound of IAMX clearly evolved through 11 studio albums, but the body of work is cohesive and blends all eras seamlessly and harmoniously, bound together with themes of desire, death, love, addiction, decadence, alienation, and the exploration of sexual identity and gender expression.

IAMX might be a solo project, but the accompanying band deserves a shout out. Janine Gezang, IAMX’s long time collaborator (and a professional ADHD life coach!) on bass, was throwing menacing grimaces to the crowd while commanding the rhythm section. Jon Siren was absolutely ferocious on drums, and Sammi Doll provided a zen-like presence behind the keys.

I had my full circle moment during ‘After Every Party I Die’, where I observed from the balcony as Chris jumped into the pit and crowd surfed, cementing his connection to the crowd. My personal favourite from Fault Lines², ‘Neurosymphony’, touched on the subject of mental health, which is Chris Corner’s big passion (there was even a podcast series HEADNOISE on the subject, run by Chris and Janine, which you can still listen to online)

I got locked in a perfect neurosymphony
My own emotional wasteland
I know you’re scared, but I am right here
Take my hand

The end of the gig brought us back to the beginning with ‘Spit It Out’ and ‘The Great Shipwreck of Life’ from 2009s A Welcome Addiction bringing a euphoric close, with anthemic vocals – but the crowd wouldn’t let IAMX go that easily. The encore of the title track from 2006’s The Alternative and the opening track to 2015’s Metanoia – ‘No Maker Made Me’ – were the true close to a glorious night. IAMX manages to create a sound and a persona that is seemingly timeless and never loses relevance, and the theatrical nature of the performances makes them events to remember.

IAMX continues the European Tour with Turkish post-punk innovators Ductape – if you happen to be nearby, join the community: https://iamxmusic.com/pages/iamx-live.