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Arriving to an already packed Albert pub who had clearly been enjoying the opening act, superb acoustic stylings from Bryan Thomson (Sophie’s uncle and a huge inspiration to her, I learn later), I was eagerly anticipating hearing some new (to me!) acts. I managed to squeeze into a rare spare seat and settled in for the evening.
The Outputs (Sam Parsons and Alex Foster) are a young acoustic guitar based duo who did a combination of covers and original material. I found their own music to be well written with great use of backing vocals and hooks to support the songs but without anything feeling like it was there for the sake of it. I heard flashes of Badly Drawn Boy and The Kooks and I’d certainly be interested in hearing what they could do in a studio with a producer.
Their choice of covers was equally well done and I would only suggest that a year of hard gigging combined with continuing to write will only improve what is an already impressive outfit – one to watch for.
Despite all the good things we had already heard that evening, there was a step change when Sophie and her band took to the stage. The quality of the musicianship was undeniable, with a lush, deep sound that projected its way round the venue. It was great to hear a band that plays for each other and the song and not just for themselves. Iain Hunter (drums) and Dave Garvie (bass) were as solid a rhythm section as I’ve seen in a long time, performing with real feel and keeping everything locked tight. Jordan Lapping (guitarist and Sophie Norris’ chief collaborator) was central to everything, keeping the body of the music swinging along while Eli Joseph Doummar (lead guitar) filled the gaps with some decidedly lovely ad libs and embellishments as well as treating us to some truly excellent solos. I cannot over-emphasise just how bloody good this band are!
But the star of the show is undoubtedly Sophie herself. She is a complete natural on stage, commanding the attention of the audience and then keeping it, masterfully. Her stagecraft is excellent, no doubt polished by all the performances notched up with Walking on Air, the duo she shares with Jordan. Knowing what to say and how to be on stage is something that a lot of young performers struggle with, often hiding behind alcohol or antics to get past it, but Sophie has an ease that is as hard to teach as it is wonderful to behold. She seems completely relaxed and comfortable, taking us through the songs and inspirations with a gentleness and deftness of touch that reminded me of how much we all miss watching Ishka play…
I hadn’t heard any of the original songs before the show and so had little in mind as to what to expect. This is most definitely a rock band but one that is unashamed of its other influences. There are country flavours in here alongside swathes of pop, a diversity that still manages to sound coherent. Each song is given a unique identity and performed accordingly (again, I’d like to point toward Eli’s guitar work) and the whole package is focused on what Sophie is trying to achieve.
Scarborough’s music scene is hard to pigeonhole and weekends especially, at times, somewhat swamped with identi-kit covers bands, but Sophie Norris et al has shown that, with the right effort and hard work, people will fill a Saturday night pub to listen to original music too. Good gig.
