Odd, not entirely satisfying evening of post-industrial synth pop from these British veterans of the genre. Konstruktivists is largely the project of Glenn Wallis, one-time auxiliary member of Whitehouse and associate of Throbbing Gristle, aided and abetted by a revolving cast of collaborators. For the current iteration of the group Wallis is joined by Vienna’s Mark Crumby, editor of the seminal Whitehouse cuttings book Still Going Strong which was at least partly responsible for sustaining the myth of Whitehouse in my mind when I bought it sometime in the 1990s. (It also included White Stained Covers, a free cassette of Whitehouse cover versions, of which more later.)

Given this enticing web of connections I really wanted to like Konstruktivists, but the evening never really took off for me. Having long harboured an unaccountable dislike of unconventional dress in all its forms, it was always going to be an uphill struggle from the moment Wallis took the stage in a top hat, white make-up, fake black eye and what looked suspiciously like a nappy worn outside his trousers. This get-up, ridiculous as it was, nevertheless made perfect sense in the context of Wallis’s approach to performance, which was just as uncompromising and baffling as his appearance.

Wallis sings in an unvarying monotone, his default voice a kind of muttered growl that rapidly becomes irritating and robs the songs of much of their communicative impulse. Due to heavy processing many of the words are inaudible, while those that survive seem to emerge from some opaque private cosmology. Stilted and rhetorical to the last, Wallis’s texts remain wilfully, defiantly obscure.

This is unfortunate, since at the same time Crumby is working wonders from behind his set-up (as far as I could tell, a mix of analogue and digital equipment). The electronic beats and textures are warm and seductive, the occasional blasts of noise cathartic and invigorating. Crumby takes as his starting point the glassy atmospheres of 20 Jazz Funk Greats-era TG and makes of them something startlingly fresh and unexpected. The sense of mystery is enhanced by complex and beautiful back-projected constructivist graphics, forming a constantly evolving visual parallel to the shifting sands of Crumby’s music.

Over at stage right, meanwhile, Wallis continues in stubbornly declamatory vein until, with some relief, the encore is reached. Much to my surprise, the finale is a track from White Stained Covers, “I’m Coming Round Your House” by Earphaser (presumably a pseudonym for Wallis himself). I seem to remember this effort being one of the highlights of the compilation, although it’s hard to say for sure since I haven’t heard it for at least 15 years, not having owned a cassette player in all that time. Gleefully puncturing the macho postures of the original, the song’s air of cheerful insouciance stands in marked contrast to the gruelling nature of what has gone before.