South Arcade | O2 Academy2, Islington | 20/03/24

South Arcade closed their headline Arc Angel tour with a dangerously sexy, fiery and energetic show in Islington. The hype behind this Oxford quartet is contagious, and their big finale might be a sign of pending stardom.

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Walking onto the stage to Islington O2 Academy2 is South Arcade. It’s packed, ravenous fans gravitating to the barrier at every given opportunity. This is the final date of the Arc Angel tour, with all six dates being sold out.

The hype behind this Oxford quartet is contagious, and within these walls, their influence has never felt so overpowering. This is by no means accidental, nor is it out-of-the-blue. South Arcade has spent the last two years tirelessly releasing music, playing shows and building their image through social media. What’s even more impressive is they’re completely independent. What was about to unfold was directed by the band, from the light setup to bespoke hand-made necklaces for merch.

South Arcade are Harmony (vocalist), Ollie (bassist), Harry (guitar), and Cody (drums). We first caught a glimpse of the soon-to-be super group supporting The Academic in 2022 after the release of debut Bigger Than Ever. Two years on, they’re headlining a tour with a noticeably supersonic confidence.

‘It’s come to the last night of the tour, we’re in Angel. And this is the Arc Angel tour, it’s meant to be guys, thanks for coming to see us losers’, laughs the vocalist, Harmony. It’s no exaggeration to say her performances have become dangerously sexy, fearless and charismatic, looping the crowd around her pinky finger from start to finish. And this night was no different.

Kicking the evening off with the dirty riffs of Silverlight and Nepo Baby, an unrivalled wave of energy was unleashed. Harmony joined the crowd at the barrier for the Muse-inspired Change Your Mind, absorbing the infectious adoration resonating from every word echoing towards her. At The Lights, a new one, was then dedicated to the loyalty found in their growing fanbase.

Nodding to the self-confessed ‘Y2K Core’ style the alt-rockers chase, there were also two faultless covers from the early 00’s. I Kissed A Girl and Sk8er Boi sent everyone, including ourselves, into a frenetic state. Bands often turn to covers to bulk out a setlist early on, and it can sometimes feel insincere. For South Arcade, it felt unique. Undoubtedly a lot of thought, love and admiration had been poured into these adaptations - and the crowd had no complaints.

While the four-piece bounced around on stage, enjoying every moment, the crowd stood fixated on a band destined for bigger things. Announcing they’re entering a ‘Sad Girl Era’, prior to Worth It gave us the biggest indication of the exciting new direction for the band.

:: Round-Up ::

This is a band built on the mutual love between artist and fans. ‘We could not be doing any of this without you. This has been the best crowd of the tour’, before thrashing into Sound Of An Empty Room. A sea of people bouncing and moshing at South Arcade’s beckoned call. It was anything but an empty room, being the loudest of the entire setlist. The lyrics felt very poignant, everything else did feel like background noise. Because in this moment nothing else mattered.

Instead of a cliche encore, the time was used to meet their community. That hype thrusting the band to stardom isn’t going anywhere, if anything, this tour was just a glimpse into what’s next.

See full setlist on Setlist.fm. Were you at the show? Check out our Insta and TikTok for videos, or share your own with us.