Egoism: Support Act Review

Tonight, American rock band Half Alive finish up their Australian tour, bringing their exciting genre-blending music and thrillingly choreographed dances to Brisbane. The band has invited Sydney-based dream pop band Egoism to join them as the opening act of the night. Standing in a line that bends around the block half an hour before doors, I’m excited to add Egoism to the list of bands I’ve seen live, but more eager for some of the crowd I’m standing in to get a chance to meet this trio for the first time and, hopefully, find a new favourite to follow!

This is what happened during Egoism’s set at The Princess Theatre on June 22nd, 2025.

EGOISM

Egoism has been making music for over a decade now, taking time to arrive at this moment of synchronicity as a band, with each other and their sound. We’re treated to a group who is cool and confident in their performance, which showcases some of the big hits from their debut album, And Go Nowhere. The band, featuring vocalists Scout and Olive (who both also play guitar and bass) and drummer Adam, are exciting, but sweet. When performing, they’ve got a rockstar appeal; in between songs, they’re adorably honest.

The band started with How To Disappear, showing off their dreamy rock. The steady drumming and angelic voice of Olive lull audiences in before the band arrives at the heavier chorus and break. They don’t hold back, switching to a head-banging rock vibe. Scout, in his leather jacket, gives the band a similar pop rock flair to The 1975 and Arctic Monkeys, best exemplified in the band’s big hit Addison Road.

Egoism’s music explores just the right themes to capture the confusion clouding our 20s, best exemplified in Getting Older. Introducing themselves as a local band from Sydney, they played a song of the same name. It addresses an experience that’s painfully relatable – recognising that people will leave for something better and feeling stuck where you are. At the same time, New Friends delves into the anger we have at old ties we’ve kept hold of purely to avoid being alone. Through their energetic performance, these difficult conversations are made more palatable without losing the connection they create between the band and their crowd.

Speaking of, the audience’s reaction to Egoism was incredible. From the time the house lights first went down until the last note of Addison Road, the audience was dancing along, head-banging in the heavier moments, and sharing a great deal of enthusiasm for Egoism’s music back to the band. I saw groups of people excited to hear one of their new favourite Australian bands, singing along to every lyric. Newcomers to Egoism’s whipped out their phones to capture the memory, share it with friends and use it later to recall which song it was they loved to add to their playlist.

Egoism earned the crowd’s favour, who will hopefully be standing before them again at an Egoism tour in future! While there’s currently one upcoming show, hopefully this leaves the calendar open for some more shows in the second half of the year, or perhaps another support act spot. My fingers are crossed with the hope that it won’t be long before Egoism graces a stage in front of me again!

Fave song: Getting Older