POPPY - Live in Sydney
Constantly Nowhere but Always With Us
Wednesday 21st January 2026
Written by: Jimmy Wah
Photos by: Adamross Williams
Days before the release of her 5th studio album Negative Spaces on January 23, genre-defying juggernaut POPPY artfully dissected Sydney's UNSW Roundhouse alongside OCEAN GROVE and INERTIA as part of her Constantly Nowhere Tour. With such a diverse blend of styles that Google is simply forced to call it ‘rock’, POPPY is loved for her ability to shift from bubblegum pop, trap beats and soothing melodies to the painful screams of brutal hardcore, industrial metal and everything in between. This unique approach made her the first female solo artist to ever be nominated for best metal performance in 2021 with BLOODMONEY and has built a diverse community of rusted on fans. With the protection of her image restricting any professional media photography, I was certainly keen to find out why.
I’ll never get used to attending a mid-week show in the broad daylight of the Australian Summer, but hearing the unmistakable rumble of metal being played from the Roundhouse was enough to tickle my insides from the outside. The moment I walked in from the golden streets, the floor and mezzanine were full of people and I was greeted with “Motherfuckin’ Roundhouse how ya doin?!” from INERTIA’s Julian LaTouche in a break between songs. The home town heroes had no trouble amping up the crowd and carrying the audience through their metalcore grooves. INERTIA feels like such an accessible class of metalcore, taking some of the best elements of a generation of metal like explosive guitars, thunderous drums shattering vocals mixed with the depth and nuance of atmospheric passages and dark pop. The best part is it’s translation to the live scene. “I hear they call this the Roundhouse for more than one reason!” says Julian. “Let’s get this circle pit goin!”. Moments like this make the crowd as much a part of the show as the band on stage.
Exploding onto the stage next was Melbourne’s OCEAN GROVE, with front-man Dale Tanner bringing the nu-metal vibes with backwards hat, gloves, cargos and an oversized long sleeve shirt. As soon as they opened with ‘JUNKIES’ the crowd was bouncing and without any instruction arms were raised and nodding with the beat. It was already obvious from the energy and involvement of the audience that they had a connection with OCEAN GROVE before the music began, which was made even stronger when Dale said “This song is called ‘Last Dance’, it’s about embracing every moment you get. You never know when it's gonna end”. With that, phone torches went in the air as ethereal lights were met with mellow yet gravitational tones. The talk to the fans continued throughout the set between massive jumps from the raised platform on the stage, bodies meeting bodies on the floor and the occasional crowd surfer riding above it all. If you haven’t seen OCEAN GROVE for the first, 3rd, 5th or 10th time, I urge you to go to one of their shows and experience a nu level of energy.
As the crowd gathered for POPPY in a haze-filled room of purple light, the final stage format revealed itself. What seemed like a black curtain dividing the stage in half now revealed a gigantic drum riser that positioned the kit almost as high as the mezzanine, while at the front on the smaller stage riser was a single sparkling mic stand. When the house music finally subsided, the purple was replaced with blue and the roar of fans dissipated into an ominous voice over the top of elvish music that grew darker as the band appeared wearing contorted masks. POPPY energetically bounced onto the stage with her beauty unmasked and burst into the vocally charged opening track Bruised Sky released only months earlier.
The energy of the crowd was instant and I looked around to see smiling faces and blurred heads instantly engaging with the music. When the track ended, POPPY left the stage briefly before returning to an explosion of CO2 from stage cannons as the intro of Bloodmoney greeted an elated crowd. POPPY wore all black, blending into the curtain hanging from the drum riser with her jet black hair, but when she locked eyes with the crowd on either side of the stage I saw moving heads go still, as though somewhat entranced. Leaving the stage again, POPPY returned holding a mask in front of her face for Scary Mask and starting each song fresh became a recurring theme throughout the show, giving each song more emphasis.
“Fuck yeah POPPY!” was met with a roar from the fans before she reappeared after one of the few interludes throughout the show. “Hi Sydney, I wanna see you go absolutely wild for this next song. Can you do that for me?” Not that they needed any encouragement but the enthusiasm of the crowd became even more intense. POPPY has a vocal range that could rival dream-pop ballads one minute and brutally tear apart living prey the next. The best part is she's not afraid to blend the two. I couldn't decide if I was being seduced, serenaded, abused or assaulted but either way, the mix of sounds drew me in and left me feeling euphoric. A shout out has to be given for the masked musicians that make the POPPY experience what it is. I always loved the djenty, industrial, metalcore riffs behind the voice but seeing it live showed just how much the guitarist shreds between sections, the bassist rips between driving the music and the drummer commands his kit to adapt to any style.
As the set wore on, POPPY’s steely persona softened as she seemed to draw from the energy of the crowd. Cold stares turned to smiles and she seemed to enjoy dancing to the music as much as those on the floor. The set was full of high energy songs from start to finish with a couple of covers from BABYMETAL and BAD OMENS. “Ok I’m gonna come down” was met with a new level of excitement as she joined the crowd toward the end of the set during ‘Never Find My Place’, returning to the stage to play one more song before dissecting the crowd by demanding that everyone pick a side for a wall of death. This made for a crushing opening to the final song “New Way Out” as CO2 was blasted with white confetti and streamers that hung from the lighting rig on the roof like a jellyfish waiting for prey. A fitting end to a night at the mercy of an elegant performance with a nasty sting.
Photos by: Adamross Williams
