LIVE REVIEW+ PHOTOS: HARPY AT OSLO HACKNEY, LONDON 01/12/25
Harpy is art, in the purest sense of the word - garnering a reaction is the aim rather than attempting to gain universal adoration. It's this idgaf attitude that frees her up to create dark, impactful nu-goth music. Whether people love it or hate it she just wants to make sure they are listening.
Dear Tash provided a solid support, sauntering onto the stage looking like Princess Ariel with red hair and a green sequined bodysuit.
A brilliant cover of La Roux's ‘In For The Kill’ was a set highlight, a track Dear Tash has renamed ‘Do I Want To Go In For The Kill’.
“You guys look so pretty” she giggled to an appreciative crowd before launching into new track ‘City of Angels’.
In honour of Harpy, Dear Tash includes her heaviest song in the set, a song she ‘put to bed’ a while ago “It's time to get her back out” she joked before treating the room to ‘Blackhole’.
Falling to her knees during breakdowns and roaming around the stage with great presence, Dear Tash was a masterclass of a support act.
The masked Filthy Pig provides the modern iteration of the rock nightclub scene, DJ'ing classic tracks as well as modern and fresh songs for those who are more involved music fans.
Plenty of Cassyette, Wargasm, Bambi Thug and Sleep Token was in the mix and was well received by the crowd who went especially wild for ‘Hole’, the artist's only original track currently released that sparked a rowing pit in the middle of the room.
To celebrate its release, Harpy announced on socials that she was to play her new EP VII in full, both at Oslo in Hackney and the following day in Brighton at the second of the two release shows. This was to be the only chance fans would get to hear the new record in full and so the show started this way. The throbbing beat of ‘Inferno' got the room in the mood for a night of dark industrial debauchery.
Back in March, Harpy sold out the Camden Assembly and many of those fans were back for round two with balls on.
VII, a seven-track whirlwind adventure through Harpy's unique brand of industrial goth party tracks has only been out for a couple of days but the new offering has already ingratiated itself into Harpy's set flawlessly. The massive ‘Call Me Mommy’ already feeling like a quintessential track for the artist.
“Okay London it's time to show me what you've got” Harpy encouraged as she moved on to the second part of the evening, VIII completed in full, it was then time for the highlights of the rest of her back catalogue. ‘Inside Out’ commenced this part of the evening.
“I wanna see a mosh pit for this one” Harpy encouraged for ‘Not My God Anymore’ the excitable middle section of the crowd obliged
The smooth and ethereal ‘Medicine’ and growling aggression of ‘Slaughterhouse” culminated in the finale of slightly funky, mostly sexy, ‘Swallow’.
Calling time on her second thrilling London headline set of the year Harpy bid farewell to the crowd. “This is my last song thanks for letting me confess my sins to you, if you don't know who I am, my name is mommy”.
Words by Imogen Bird.
Photos by Florelle Servageon.