The band explain their ‘theatre kid’ take on rock and plans for their debut album.

LA sextet The Sophs announced their signing to Rough Trade this year with the addictive debut single ‘SWEAT’, which spirals from something reminiscent of the intimate indie pop of Metronomy to a furious pitch more evocative of East Coast influences like Bodega and The Strokes. Subsequent singles elaborate on a sprawling musical approach that always orbits a deeply melodic core, the band always keeping focus on the hook that really makes a song. The band’s sprawling setup features lead vocalist Ethan Ramon, keys from Sam Yuh, Austin Parker Jones and Seth Smades on guitar duties (Seth also adds occasional accordion), Devin Russ on drums and Cole Bobbitt on bass. We met up with the band at End of the Road last month after their storming set at a packed Folly stage, comparing notes on Festivals on either side of the Atlantic and hearing about everything the band are excited to share in the coming months.

How would you explain your set to someone who has never seen you before?

Ethan: Just kinda like guitar rock, but a little eclectic. For lack of a better word, theatre kid brained.

How do you make it theatre kid??

E: I think just a lot of nervous energy, expressive performances. Maybe some more vibrato than some people are used to hearing.

Austin: Oh and also there’s an accordion.

How did you guys all meet?

E: So Austin, Sam, Seth and I all are from Arizona, I graduated high school with Sam… The Sophs wasn’t formed until we moved out to LA and we were already friends with Cole and Devin and then it all just lined up.

Cole: We were all friends first before the music came along.

How do US festivals compare to UK?

C: I’ve been to Coachella for a few years… this is something completely different. There’s a lot more culture and, people are here to enjoy the music, less so to be seen by cameras. I feel like people go to Coachella and festivals like that to be seen by cameras. People are here to enjoy the music, it’s very refreshing for sure.

What is your guys’ go-to festival food?

E: Whiskey whiskey whiskey.

C: I was gonna say Vodka Red Bull…

Have any of you eaten anything this weekend??

Ok moving on, what are your favourite moments in the live show?

Seth: Sam’s keyboard solo in ‘They Said Jump’… halfway through it really cranks.

C: I think ‘Sweetie Pie’ is the most fun part of the set. By the time we get to that song, everybody’s maybe unsure of what’s going on, and then ‘Sweetie Pie’ completely lets the guard down, and maybe lets people enjoy it a bit more. And you can see it very clearly on stage.

E: I agree, just coming in with a song that fast. And it’s reminiscent of hoedowns, rodeos… regardless of if you’ve been to one – which I haven’t – you’re familiar with the vibe. People start moving like they haven’t before.

D: Not to jump on the ‘Sweetie Pie’ train but there’s this little bass run that happens… I like smile so big every time.

A: I also love when Sam plays the accordion, which happens here and there. That’s a big highlight for me.

S: My favourite part of the set is in the ‘House’ bridge, Devin hits a kind of [drum rolls on the table], that’s so awesome, it feels so good.

What are you most excited to share with listeners, either musically or beyond the music?

S: The end of ‘Blitzed Again’, the end of ‘Blitzed Again’ is magical.

C: I’m excited for all the music we have coming out… I think that since we’ve really strapped in and started working, everything keeps getting better and better, and we become closer as friends professionals, and it feels really special.

E: I think honestly just us as people. I think we have the rare opportunity, we’re fortunate enough to redefine ourselves in the context of this band, at all of our big ages, where all of us are old enough to be a little more in control of how we’re perceived, how we act, and the type of music we make. We’re not failing in public anymore, not creatively, not personally, so just really stoked to be a young adult in a band introducing myself to people, and it kind of sticking.

What is your favourite response you’ve had to your music so far?

C: Somebody came up to me and – it’s just because we’re from the US – somebody came up to me and said, ‘You are proper class’. It’s a really good compliment, I hadn’t heard that before.

How about the weirdest?

C: We haven’t had anything super weird, not yet. We get some weird sorta characters but everything is super nice and we’re super grateful to get anything.

C: We all got cornered at one show, everyone individually had an experience with this one guy…

A: …he said we should both be playing the same guitar.

C: He just gave us a bunch of notes and it was like, ‘Dude, fuck off!’. We’ll take notes from you when you’re on stage!

A: No, we think we have had a lot of really nice interactions with people, and almost just that so far. So we can’t wait for the rest of it…

So what can we look out for from you next?

E: We’ve got an album dropping next year, we’ll be touring the states pretty soon after we get back home from Europe and we’ll be back out here next year for Spring!