It’s Saturday night and we’re at Ding Dong Lounge to see Anarchy in Eden play their set. It’s a Halloween party with people dressed so convincingly goth that I think this is their everyday wear rather than fancy dress.
From the first smack of the drums, the room was rocking — sound and mix locked in tight from note one. Frontwoman Syd Hargis, looking every bit the Nordic icon, owned the stage completely, her vocals carrying flickers of Robert Smith’s Cure-era melancholy but with a rockier, more energetic edge.
On Deaf Cut, the trio proved just how much space bass, drums, and guitar alone can fill, with atmospheric, echo-drenched guitar lines doing the work of a much bigger band. For one song, the guitar sat a touch too loud over the vocals, before the sound engineer reined it back in, and the balance clicked into place for the rest of the set.
Across the full nine-song set — All Of Me, Fallen Angel, Deaf Cut, Fomorian Rage, Under The Dirt, Undone, Fuck Cancer, Deathwish Girl, and Pot To Piss In — the band moved between moods as easily as they moved between riffs, swinging from dark and brooding to sharp, cheeky defiance without ever losing the room. By the final song, the crowd wasn’t just watching; they were part of it, dressed up, worn out, and grinning.
Syd announced they had just released their new single Deathwish Girl. Great song. Listen to Anarcy In Eden on Spotify: Deathwish Girl
Bringing Anarchy in Eden’s sound to life is Syd Hargis on vocals, Mike McMinn on guitar, Simon Pennington on bass and Ant Yelcich on drums. Together they deliver the intensity, musicianship and stage presence that give the band its distinctive identity.
By John Forster
Photography by Leonie Moreland
Anarchy In Eden
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