Sure, bands blow up and suddenly need to scale up venues. But the meme factor surrounding these polka-dotted aliens adds a whole other dimension. Khn and Klek went from relative unknowns to mega-meme essentially overnight, and demand for their live show hasn’t slowed one bit. They’ve spent the summer obliterating crowds, including opening slots for Jack White and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard.

But is it all gimmick, or are Angine de Poitrine actually worth the hype?

From the moment Klek’s first drum beats rattled through The Pearl on Sunday night — the first of three sold-out Vancouver shows — it became clear Angine de Poitrine is much more than schtick.

What followed was proggy, psychedelic desert dance music beamed in from the outer limits. There’s a hit of danger to the whole thing, as though it could fall apart at any second, except it never does. Instead, Khn and Klek maintain freakish control over the chaos: a perfectly calibrated face-melter from start to finish.

It’s hypnotic and otherworldly, with the music and costumes feeding off each other until separating the spectacle from the musicianship becomes beside the point. You’re getting shredded microtonal riffs over relentless dance rhythms, laced with flashes of polka and psychedelia — something in the neighbourhood of King Gizzard, LCD Soundsystem, Primus and Mdou Moctar, delivered with the absurdist wink of Ween. But even that doesn’t quite explain whatever the hell is happening up there.

The crowd didn’t need an explanation. They lapped up every bit of it, flashing the band’s now-trademark triangle hand signal, dancing, swaying and staring bug-eyed at the two creatures commanding the stage throughout their entire set.

Forget the skeptics. They can’t get tickets anyway.