It’s a strange, electric anticipation that fills the air as I prepare to watch THE THE take the stage at the Sydney Opera House, their music a bridge spanning four decades of post-punk innovation and political urgency. Matt Johnson, the restless genius behind it all, stands as sharp and incisive as ever.
Born out of Johnson’s teenage angst in 1979, THE THE’s roots run deep in the sharp edges of post-punk. Soul Mining, the album that was released in 1983 plants THE THE in the pantheon of pop’s more daring explorers, its tracks like “This is the Day” and “Uncertain Smile” carrying dance beats with melancholy at their core.
As the house lights fade to a whisper, an expectant hush falls over the crowd. Then, Johnson’s voice resonates through the speakers, rich and deliberate. He makes a simple request—no photos or filming during the show. From the moment that he strides on stage, Johnson, ever the enigmatic prophet, commands the room with the kind of authority that comes from years of wrestling with the human condition. His voice—part preacher, part storyteller—carries the same bruised warmth as it did on Soul Mining, though it’s tempered now with the weight of time. Johnson’s face is partly obscured by the 3 mics that he uses, they are mounted on a custom built stand that looks like something out of a steam punk dream.
The setlist tonight features the band playing the new album ‘Ensoulment’ in full, this is followed by a career-spanning odyssey, each song a sharp fragment of the band’s evolution. Johnson’s political urgency is unrelenting, his words as incisive and relevant now as they were in Thatcher’s Britain.
Kissing the ring of POTUS, Under the spell of hypnosis, The proof of psychosis, The coup that nobody noticed – Kissing the Ring of POTUS lyrics
The band—tight, powerful, and effortlessly dynamic—amplifies his vision, creating a sound that’s dense but never cluttered, every note purposeful.
Walking out of the Opera House, the energy lingers and I am struck by what THE THE represents—a refusal to fade quietly, a commitment to interrogating the chaos of the world. A reminder that music can still shake us awake. In a world numbed by endless noise, THE THE cuts through with clarity, urgency, and undeniable power.
