Turkish darkwave duo She Past Away brought their Mizantrop Tour 2026 to Dublin’s Button Factory on 23 September, delivering a set that felt as hypnotic and uncompromising as the band’s reputation suggests.
The venue was packed, with a strikingly diverse crowd of goths spanning generations gathered beneath the dim lights. From the opening notes of “İçimdeki Düşman”, the atmosphere was immediately established, cold, brooding and intensely rhythmic. Vocalist and guitarist Volkan Caner’s deep, detached delivery sat perfectly against the band’s minimalist electronic pulse, while the insistent basslines gave the songs an almost physical momentum.
The fifteen-song set drew heavily from the band’s darker, more hypnotic material. “Mizantrop”, “Ritüel”, “İnziva” and “İnsanlar” maintained the momentum through the main set, with the crowd responding to each track with an enthusiasm that never tipped into distraction. There was something particularly compelling about watching a room full of people surrender to music sung entirely in Turkish, the language only seemed to deepen the music’s sense of mystery.
After leaving the stage, She Past Away returned for a three song encore of “Bozbulanık”, “İzole” and “Hayaller?”. It provided a suitably immersive final chapter to the evening, the pounding rhythms and stark melodies filling the Button Factory one last time.
For longtime followers and newcomers alike, the Dublin show demonstrated why She Past Away remain such a distinctive presence in contemporary darkwave: austere, atmospheric and relentlessly danceable.
Opening the night fell on the shoulders of alternative post-punk/dream-pop duo West Wickhams.
West Wickhams photos:
She Past Away photos & set-list:
Set-list:
İçimdeki Düşman
Durdu Dünya
Katarsis
Mizantrop
Asimilasyon
Ritüel
Sessiz Orman
Kasvetli Kutlama
İnziva
Ruh
Kaygan Kayalıklar
İnsanlar
______________
Bozbulanık
İzole
Hayaller?
Photos & words – Ian Mc Donnell @mcgigmusic