Live Review + Gallery | The Sophs @ The Windmill, Brixton

Matt Wellham

After years of photographing and filming the London music scene, Matt’s now based in Sydney, Australia. A lover of the post-punk and alternative movement, he can usually be found in the grassroots venues, camera in one hand and a beer in the other.

Bouncing across the stage and across genres, The Sophs impressed the crowd at The Windmill for their wild debut London gig

Before jumping on the tube to The Windmill for The Sophs’ London debut, a friend asked me what genre the band were. I responded with a firm “umm it’s hard to describe, I’ll let you know later.”

However you want to describe them, they’re certainly impressing the industry, all with only a couple of singles to their name. Earlier this year, after receiving a demo from frontman Ethan Ramon, label heads Geoff Travis and Jeannette Lee signed them straight to Rough Trade Records. “It’s rare that a demo that arrives in the post sets your heart racing and sends you off on a quest to track down its sender. But that’s what happened when we listened to the music sent to us by Ethan Ramon,” Travis and Lee explained.

So, as I arrived at The Windmill, possibly South London’s most iconic establishment for seeing the next big thing, I was ready to be impressed.

And impressed I was. What The Sophs put on was an intimate yet fiery display, filled with sharp guitars, a driving rhythm section and a delicate, thoughtful approach to lyricism that evoked moments of introspection.

Pushing through the sold-out crowd, the band took to the stage to a roar of applause. Support slots from Sorrel and crysometimes had already left the audience sweating. Now, with lagers in hand, they were thirsty for more.

The LA six-piece kicked things off with a melodic cover of ‘Ohio’ by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Unexpected, but the perfect opening, giving each member of the group an opportunity to show off their harmonies as Ramon stormed through the lyrics.

They followed up with a number of unreleased tracks – ‘They Told Me Jump I Said How High’, ‘Gold Star’, and ‘Blitzed Again’. Across these, the group incorporated a range of styles and influences. Ramon’s swagger and stage presence carried the essence of Julian Casablancas from early Strokes years, while guitarist Austin Parker Jones and keyboardist Sam Yuh reeled off licks that wouldn’t sound out of place on an old Steely Dan record. Meanwhile, acoustic guitarist Seth Smades added rhythmic flourishes reminiscent of a Cuban collective. Over all of this, the group united in harmonies that could have come from an old sea shanty.

Reading that back, it sounds like a mess, but across 45 minutes, it was a thrill to watch. Under The Windmill’s scorching red lights, the band dominated the stage. Ramon flicked between his regular microphone and an old lo-fi radio mic, reminding me of Damon Albarn’s vocals for Gorillaz. The effect created a personal touch, as Ramon flowed through reflective lyrics in a spoken word manner. It set up a striking juxtaposition between him and the musicians surrounding him, who grinned as they fired off bursts of energy.

Coming to the end of the set, The Sophs worked into their released single ‘DEATH IN THE FAMILY’ before finishing with ‘SWEAT’. The latter would fit perfectly on ‘The New Abnormal’ by The Strokes. With its volatile mix of synths and punchy guitars, it’s an absolute earworm and, within a few chords, the audience were belting along with Ramon.

Going into the show, I didn’t know how to describe The Sophs based on their released work. Now, as I write this, I’m even less sure how to summarise them. But I think that’s a really, really good thing. This is a band at the very start of their career and it’s an absolute joy to watch them blend so many influences into a sound that’s already selling out shows on the other side of the world.

If you get the opportunity to catch The Sophs before they head back to America, I’d seriously recommend it.