The past few months have brought a hefty flood of alt and punk-rock acts streaming in from the Northern Hemisphere. IDLES came through. So did Soft Play and Fat White Family. We watched Shame’s frontman jump off a 10-foot-high speaker a few weeks ago and Kneecap reemerge the decapitated head of King George V in Naarm/Melbourne. Fontaines D.C. played the goddamn Opera House. Though it was a Saturday night at Crowbar, the end of a long week, where The Murder Capital gave us something we desperately needed.
It was the Dublin band’s first time playing Eora/Sydney, part of their Blindness world tour, and they played it like they knew how far some of us had traveled (geographically, emotionally, whatever) to be there. They’ve just wrapped the Australia/NZ leg and are heading to the UK to keep the momentum going, with freshly announced support slots for Fontaines on the horizon. But for a couple of hours, Crowbar, tucked into the darkest corner of Parramatta Rd, belonged to them.
The night started strong with some of the best supporting bands I’ve caught this year: Second Idol and Swapmeet. Eora Nation/Sydney’s Second Idol delivered post-punk with teeth. Unafraid to lean further. Any fans of Siouxsie and the Banshees would’ve felt the pull. Kaurna/Adelaide’s Swapmeet followed with something looser, more elusive – indie rock with a soft midwestern-emo undercurrent. As usual, something really exciting is brewing over in South Australia, you can tell.
Then came ‘The Fall’. The first notes from The Murder Capital – and just like that, we were in. The set leaned hard into ‘Gigi’s Recovery‘ (2023) and ‘Blindness‘ (2025): ‘Moonshot’, ‘Death of a Giant’, ‘The Stars Will Leave Their Stage.’ Performed with precision, but never polish. That’s important.
And then, ‘A Distant Life.’ It opens with a subtle, almost spoken-word energy – like they’ve leaned in and said: Now listen. It felt intimate. The bones of a love poem, held in open hands. On ‘Can’t Pretend to Know’, James McGovern’s voice is the tether. He’s got grit – real grit – not the overused adjective but the kind that makes you think, yeah, he could front a heavier band if he wanted to. But here, it’s weaponised for something more poetic. For ache.
McGovern stopped at one point just to thank the crowd, saying the band’s minds were blown by how many people showed up. I couldn’t help but think about the size of the rooms they’ll play next time they’re in Australia.
For the encore, ‘Ethyl’ is a huge standout. It’s not often a song has a literal heartbeat. ‘Words Lost Meaning’ is already one of the band’s most popular releases, and you can hear why. It opens so seductively with a slinky, pulse-driven beat that unfurls into storytelling you can sink your teeth into.
‘Love of Country’ closed the night with McGovern channeling some serious poetry – there’s a flicker of Nick Cave in there, somewhere in the drone, somewhere in the drama. Choosing this piece to end on was clearly a statement. Not a bang, but a burn. “Could you blame me for mistakin’ your love of country for hate of men?“
APRIL
17 – Birmingham, XOYO
18 – Manchester, New Century Hall
19 – Glasgow, Saint Luke’s
21 – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
22 – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
24 – London, HERE at Outernet
26 – Bristol, SWX
29 – Lisbon, Lav
30 – Porto, Auditorio CCOP
MAY
2 – Madrid, Sala Copernico
3 – Barcelona, Sala Razzmatazz
5 – Milan, Alcatraz
6 – Zurich, Bogen F
8 – Munich, Backstage
9 – Prague, MeetFactory
10 – Berlin, Gretchen
11 – Cologne, Gebaude 9
13 – Brussels, Ancienne Belgique
14 – Nijmegen, Doornroosje
15 – Amsterdam, Melkweg- MAX
17 – Paris, Le Trianon
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