Doops
I finally got to see Doops play live last week for their headline show at Oakford Social Club in Reading.
Support act's Playing Fields and Fanchon were both very impressive, with cool melodic bass lines, distinctive vocals and a strong 90's indie rock/grunge vibe from both acts but in their different styles.
Doops set started like a psychedelic lullaby which gradually built into a rock out ending with catchy guitar riffs aplenty ( I think the song was Tall Whites? ) It was a really strong start and the set continued at that intensity with each song demonstrating a different side to the band, with songs like Pull Back The Shades in its laid back slinky groove, beside the fast paced high energy of song Laika.
Nobody was expecting a cover of Britney Spears but the crowd seemed to love it judging by the amount of people I saw grab their phones to video it, whilst they all sang along ( well its hard not too isn't it..?! )
I really enjoyed the set and Doops layer the sound of the Synth and guitars very well live to capture the same dreamy/spacey vibe from the recordings.
A really great evening of music from all three bands and as a free gig too it was something not to be missed!
I interviewed Doops for SoundWaves back in January 2021 when I first started the website so it was great to catch up with Andy ( singer/guitarist ) to ask him for an update on the band since then.
You have a new line up since we last spoke, tell us who these new faces are & what magic they bring to Doops?
So we've got Cameron (Smith) on Synth & additional Guitars - he ended up actually joining after our we parted ways with our old drummer Chris, with Cam jumping on a drum machine and synths for a one off show shortly after lockdown when they were trying the social distanced gigs.
It was fun stripping things back, but definitely wanted the feel of live drums so got in touch with Roddy (Bailey) to see if he'd be interested - which he was fourtnuately for us!
A lot of our recordings are layered with additional guitars and noises, so Cameron is fleshing those out nicely, and it means on new stuff we can properly double up on guitar or lean more into some more space synth grooves which. He's also bringing some sweet BV's into the picture which is ace. Roddy is a bit of a powerhouse (you've probably seen him in Adam & Elvis) - but is also a bit of an all rounder musicwise so adding loads of value on the song writing front.
Now you are a four piece, has this changed any new material you’ve been writing? Will the next EP be a different sound to the Doops tracks we already know?
We've got a few hybrid songs that we were working on at the end of the old line up into this one which we've been playing live, so they're relatively similar to what we were up to before. The other new ones that we're playing with I guess are along the same lines, but have a bit more dual guitar thing now, but I'm hoping at least one of the new tracks will go down that synth route.
In our last interview you mentioned that you were listening to less guitar music & were considering different ways of songwriting, is this something you’ve explored yet & will we hear elements of this in new tracks?
A little bit, but with the line up change and a desire to get up to speed with the band on a live front its remained largely guitar based still for the time being.
A couple of the new tracks I'm actually playing a 6 string bass / baritone guitar type thing, which has changed things up a little but not a crazy amount.
Like I said though we're definitely hoping to shake things up a little with the next batch of songs.
Where can we catch you live?
28th October - Rising Sun Arts Cenre (for Club Velocity)
10th November - Sub 89 (supporting Third Lung at their album launch)
11th November - Amersham Arms (Ldn - Big Richards recs)
10th December - Guernsey! (venue tbc - we've been invited over to play!)
We're likely to have a few others late November / early December as well!
Colour photo By Kevin Harpin
Oakford Social Club - Doops, Fanchon, Playing Fields. 23/9/22.
