Claire Boucher’s strongest suit has always been her production, so when she brought Grimes to The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon for a performance of Art Angels’ first single, “Flesh Without Blood,” she didn’t disappoint. The performance is jacked up on caffeine and full of bright lights and great dancing, and this live version of the track is bookended by a bit of weirdness that went missing on the album version. It’s a fun watch, even if the sound quality is as shoddy as we’ve come to expect from these late night performances.
As Fallon points out in the beginning of the clip, Grimes wrote and produced the entirety of Art Angels, going so far as to learn how to play new instruments so that she could track them herself. Her hands-on, do-it-all approach is probably why she manages to command the sound and look of her performance more than most other performers, especially those on an indie level. Oh, and that’s also probably why the album has sold so well: it was one of the best-selling “indie” albums on iTunes last year.
Watch the performance below. If you like what you see, Grimes is still on tour — check for dates here.