The enduring appeal of Alice in Videoland: Musikens Hus 2026 live review
For many people, myself included, Alice in Videoland served as a gateway from rock into electro and synth music. Blending infectious pop hooks with punk attitude, distorted guitars, synthesiser melodies and pounding dance beats, the Swedish band carved out a distinctive niche between electroclash, synth-punk and electropunk.
While electroclash remains a relatively narrow genre, acts such as Ladytron and Goldfrapp helped bring electronic sounds to alternative audiences. In Sweden, bands like The Sounds and Melody Club explored similarly appealing territory where rock energy meets electronic pop. Alice in Videoland belong comfortably in that conversation, appealing to synth enthusiasts and rock fans alike.
Formed in 2002, the band released four studio albums between 2003 and 2011. Their debut, Maiden Voyage, was followed by Outrageous! (2005), the She’s a Machine mini-album (2008) and A Million Thoughts and They’re All About You (2011). Their music combines electronic beats, punk-infused guitars and danceable hooks, making them a natural crossover act for fans of both rock and electronic music.
After years away from the stage, Alice in Videoland return in 2026 for their Resurrection Tour, including a summer appearance at Subkult Festival in Trollhättan. For longtime fans, the tour offers a welcome opportunity to revisit a band whose music helped bridge the gap between guitars and synthesised sounds.
A mini-Subkult comes to Gothenburg
I last saw Alice in Videoland almost exactly ten years ago, on 5 November 2016, at Sticky Fingers, the now-defunct rock club in Gothenburg. With the band calling it quits just two years later, I was particularly disappointed to miss their return to the same venue during their farewell tour in 2018.
Few would have predicted their return in 2026, but here they are. Following their summer appearance at Subkult Festival, the band brought their Resurrection Tour to Musikens Hus on 3 October, accompanied by synth act Priest as special guests and electro-rockers TPCX as support.
The evening was organised by Subvox, the team behind Subkult Festival, giving the event the feel of a miniature Subkult for those who could not make it to Trollhättan during the summer. A welcome prospect indeed.
Proceedings were delayed when the fire alarm went off towards the end of Priest’s set, forcing everyone to evacuate the venue. Once the situation was resolved, the evening could continue, and anticipation for the headliners remained high.
Nearly a decade later, the energy is still there
When Alice in Videoland finally took to the stage, much of the energy I remembered from 2016 was immediately apparent. Frontwoman Toril Lindqvist remains a whirlwind of mischief and exuberance, with a look and personality that bring to mind a cross between Harley Quinn and Pippi Longstocking.
The Harley Quinn comparison seems particularly fitting. Lindqvist even has “Daddy’s Lil Monster” tattooed on one leg, referencing the character’s modern incarnation, portrayed by Margot Robbie in Suicide Squad.
Lindqvist frequently ventured to the edge of the stage, connecting with the audience and occasionally handing her tambourine to people at the front so they could help keep time. The results were somewhat variable, but the enthusiasm was certainly there.
Compared with the darker, cooler performance I witnessed in 2016, this time around the atmosphere was more relaxed and light-hearted. Back then, illuminated glasses worn by some of the musicians added a touch of mystery. In 2026, the emphasis was less on maintaining a carefully constructed image and more on having fun with the people who had stuck around.
There was little sense of the band needing to prove anything. They were here to celebrate their music with longtime fans, and everyone on stage seemed perfectly comfortable in that role.
Harley Quinn attitude meets wholesome family moments
One of the evening’s most endearing moments came when Lindqvist brought out a mask her young son had made for her to wear on stage.
Her initial reaction had presumably been something along the lines of, “Yeah, right… like I’ll wear that!”. As it turned out, the mask suited her aesthetic rather nicely, suggesting that her son might understand his mother’s stage persona better than she had expected.
During “Ladykiller”, she put it on and asked members of the audience to document the moment, presumably so her son could see the result. She even blew a kiss to a woman filming her on her mobile phone.
It was a wonderfully wholesome moment from someone who otherwise radiates a mischievous, party-loving energy. Seeing this more personal, distinctly maternal side of Lindqvist offered a lovely glimpse of the person behind her playful, wild stage presence.
The band’s good humour was infectious throughout the performance. Guitarist Martin Kenzo, in particular, seemed to spend almost the entire evening wearing a broad smile.
Lively performance with a minor drum casualty
There was plenty going on beyond the vocals and guitars. Both Kenzo and bassist Johan Dahlbom demonstrated their versatility by moving between their primary instruments, keyboards and additional percussion, complementing drummer Anders Alexander’s rhythms.
The percussion setup included a metal bucket and a black tom drum beside Kenzo. The musicians also used glowsticks to play some of the additional percussion, adding a playful visual element to the performance.
The black tom would become an unwitting participant in one of the evening’s funniest moments.
During “Ladykiller”, the same song in which Lindqvist wore her son’s handmade mask, she accidentally ran straight into Kenzo’s drum, knocking it out of position before kicking it over.
Kenzo’s reaction was priceless. Still smiling, he looked utterly bewildered, with an expression suggesting that someone had just nonchalantly trampled all over a sandcastle he had spent hours building.
It was a harmless mishap, but the combination of Lindqvist’s chaotic stage energy and Kenzo’s bewildered response made it the funniest sight of the evening.
Career-spanning setlist for the longtime fans
The setlist reinforced the impression that this tour was primarily a celebration of Alice in Videoland’s back catalogue.
The band began with no less than five songs from their 2003 debut, Maiden Voyage, including the infectious “Lay Me Down” and “Going Down”. From there, they moved on to Outrageous! (2005), with “In Denial”, a personal favourite of mine, providing an early highlight.
Material from She’s a Machine (2008) and A Million Thoughts and They’re All About You (2011) also featured. The result was an almost chronological journey through the band’s catalogue, focusing on the songs that made them favourites in the first place.
There was little attempt to reinvent the band or prove their relevance with unfamiliar material. Instead, the emphasis was firmly on delivering the songs their audience had come to hear, and the approach worked beautifully. Their blend of electronic rhythms, punk-infused guitars and irresistible pop melodies remains remarkably cohesive.
Where synths meet guitars
One of Alice in Videoland’s enduring strengths is their ability to move between electronic music and guitar-driven rock without sounding as though they are trying too hard to bridge the two.
The industrial-tinged “She’s a Machine” showcases their heavier side, while the driving “In a Band” and “Something New” demonstrate how naturally they combine electronic hooks with the immediacy of rock.
These tracks are ideal crossovers for listeners who normally gravitate towards guitar bands. Fans of The Sounds, for instance, will find plenty to appreciate in Alice in Videoland’s combination of melodic hooks, attitude and danceable rhythms. The connection between the bands goes beyond musical similarities, too: The Sounds’ Maja Ivarsson contributed vocals to Alice in Videoland’s “We Are Rebels” (2008), with fellow band member Felix Rodriguez also involved in the studio.
That versatility helped make them such an effective gateway into electronic music in the first place. Their songs rarely demand that listeners choose between the dancefloor and the mosh pit. Instead, they offer a little of both.
A few missed opportunities
Alice in Videoland have released a handful of songs since A Million Thoughts and They’re All About You in 2011, but only “Let Go” made it into the setlist, appearing towards the end of the show.
That felt like a missed opportunity. Both “Stand” (2015) and “Souls on Fire” (2018) are every bit as compelling as many of the band’s older hits, and it would have been great to hear more of their later material, including their excellent cover of Neneh Cherry’s “Buffalo Stance” from their most recent album.
Still, this is a minor complaint when weighed against the overall quality of the performance. A tour built around the band’s established catalogue is hardly the place to demand a wholesale change of direction, particularly when the older songs continue to work so well live.
The main set concluded with “Cut the Crap”, before the band returned for an encore featuring “Let Go” and “We Are Rebels”. It was a fitting finish to an evening centred on reconnecting with old favourites and celebrating the band’s return.
A welcome resurrection for Alice in Videoland
Ultimately, Alice in Videoland’s performance at Musikens Hus was a thoroughly enjoyable reunion with a band that clearly still has plenty of life left in it.
The energy remains, the songs are gloriously catchy, and Toril Lindqvist continues to be a captivating frontwoman. Just as importantly, the band seem to be having fun together, playing for an audience that appreciates their contribution to Sweden’s alternative music scene.
Seeing them again after nearly a decade was particularly satisfying, especially after their farewell tour once seemed to have brought the story to a close. The relaxed atmosphere, spontaneous humour and generous selection of old favourites made this feel less like an attempt to recapture past glories and more like a celebration of music that has stood the test of time.
Hopefully, the Resurrection Tour has given Alice in Videoland a taste for more live shows, and perhaps even inspired some new material. Until then, we can be grateful that these old earworms are back where they belong: on stage, loud and proud, with an audience ready to sing and dance along.
Long may the resurrection continue.
Setlist
- Dance With Me
- Lay Me Down
- Addicted
- Naked
- Going Down
- In Denial
- Ladykiller
- Radio Song
- She’s a Machine
- In a Band
- Spaceship
- Something New
- Sweet Thing
- Mf
- Cut the Crap
Encore:
- Let Go
- We Are Rebels
This show was shot with
Camera bodies
- Sony a7 IIIClose-up shots
- Sony a7R IIWide-angle shots
Camera lenses
- Samyang 35-150mm f2–2.8Close-up shots
- Tamron 16-30mm f2.8Wide-angle shots
Concert photo gallery
