Review
The American three-piece Sophia started off the night a bit before 8 (after some truly inspired DJing by somebody or other, who played the "Rockford Files" theme and mixed "Get Ur Freak On" into "Back in Black"). Sophia is lead by former God Machine frontman Robin Proper-Shepard, but don't let that fool you: Sophia sounded NOTHING like the God Machine. The latter was nearly industrial, making monstrously loud metallic guitar noise. Sophia, however, sounds more like Galaxie 500, albeit with darker lyrical concerns. Instead of singing about being a tugboat captain, Proper-Shepard would whine in his best Nick Cave voice about how "death comes so slow". I was ready to file them under "mediocre slocore", but their last piece, "River Song", impressed me with its use of noise and feedback, and the fact it was written in 3/4 time. I wasn't about to break out into a waltz, mind you, but that showed at least a little inventiveness and desire to be different. They may be a band worth keeping an eye on.
Paul Watts, www.allirelandmusic.com |
