LOUD & CATHARTHIC: Sophie’s Body on Bringing Their “Blunt-Force Wall of Sound” to Shaky Knees Festival

Interview by Christian Hernandez | Read the Shaky Knees recap here

Sophie’s Body photographed by Christian Hernandez

Fresh off their high-energy set at Shaky Knees Music Festival, Boston-based “bubble grunge” rockers Sophie’s Body-Sophie McMinn (vocals, vox, songwriting), Dylan Hughes (drums, cymbals), Adam Hurt (lead guitar), and Harry Van Der Meer (bass, BGVs)-sat down with Melophile Media.

That Post-Set Feeling

Chris (Melophile Media): I'm Chris with Melophile Media, here with Sophie's Body. You guys just finished your set at Shaky Knees, how are y'all feeling?

Sophie: Feeling good, feeling…feeling hot. It’s a hot day today, but I'm just so grateful to be here.

Dylan: Feeling good. Super thankful people came out, stuck around, and hung out with us. That was really cool, and it was a lot of fun to play that stage.

Adam: It was very hot up there. Got some electrolytes in me now, doing better, but it was a great time up there.

Harry: Agreed, very happy with our set and also very happy with our crowd. We had a lot of really great people cheering us on and being some really good friends.

Adapting the “Blunt-Force Wall of Sound” to a Festival Stage

Chris: So far you guys have built up your live reputation performing in Boston basements, DIY spots, and pop-up shows where the crowd is right there in your face, less than a few feet away. When you take your sound-which is described as a blunt force wall of sound-and throw it out into the massive festival air like Shaky Knees, how do you adapt that energy so it still hits just as hard?

Sophie: All I can say is a big thank you to our incredible sound team for helping us with that. We’re just cranking, we’re cranking amps, playing loud, playing hard. It’s like you told us earlier, it just reverberates everywhere. That’s what I want. I want everything to sound like this all the time.

Dylan: I think you just have to commit. Like as hard as possible. We got out there and I was like, “Oh shoot, I gotta…I gotta dig in a little more into the whole thing today”, and just hope for the best.

Harry: Yeah, I really feel like, at least myself, I didn’t change my approach too much. I have more, but the space just suited our sounds so well that we were able to justbreathe. It felt like a breath of fresh air. Everything just clicked.

Navigating “Long Term Loaner” & New Turning Points

Chris: With the new single coming out, “Long Term Loaner”, you guys describe the feelings of loneliness, coming out from college and adapting to change. Does stepping onto the stage at Shaky Knees feel like you guys are settling into your own sound, or are you still navigating that “long-term loaner” state of mind?

Sophie: “Long Term Loaner” is definitely a pivotal point for me, and today also felt like a pivotal point. We’ve been going through a lot of changes recently and things are falling into place. At the same time, it feels like things were falling into place before, and then you keep moving, keep growing, and it happens again. I do feel like we’re at a turning point, and I’m excited to see what happens next, excited for the next turning point.

Making Peace Through Live Music

Chris: The upcoming album, Zero, is described as a collection of songs reflecting a “primal fear of failing before even having the chance to start”. Now that you guys are playing festivals, getting ready to put out this new record, and preparing for an upcoming tour-has your relationship with that fear evolved? Does playing live feel like a way of making peace with those feelings?

Sophie: Playing live for me is the biggest catharsis I could ever hope for. It’s the most visceral release of emotion-fear, doubt, whatever. If you hit the guitar and make a really really loud sound, everything melts away. The self-doubt and imposter syndrome stuff is real and tough, especially when we stepped on that stage today, I was like, dang, this is a bigger stage that I’m used to being on. But it’s awesome, you know, looking out in the crowd, everyone’s still just a person and we’re all here for music.

Adam: Especially today, we got up to do our line check right when the doors opened and people were starting to file in. It’s a little harder to do your line check when you know people are going to be watching you in 30 minutes, or are watching you right now. It was such a relief when we got up there. Everyone in the front row was so nice, receptive, and cheering for us. To have that right before we played was the perfect palate cleanser for those fears.

Dylan: This is music that we all really believe in. When you have a group where you all really trust and believe in what you’re doing, it’s not just a drum beat or a guitar part. Everything sums up to something greater than what four people could do by themselves. That doesn’t change whatever stage we play on. That's what I was trying to focus on this morning: if you hit that chord I play that beat, it happens. It doesn’t matter\ if we’re here or in a small room, we still make it happen.

Core Tour Memories & Personal Moments

Chris: Since starting this journey, do each of you have a favorite memory so far? Score memory, either individual or a collective one where you all agreed it was a big “whoa” moment?

Sophie:That is such a good question.

Chris: Take your time, we have up to 10 minutes laughs

Harry: A personal one for me is a gig we had that was one of my favorites because we nailed the set, the energy was perfect, and the crowd was great. It was a spot called Camp Spaceman in Louisville, Kentucky. Everything felt like we could breathe, stretch, and just play. It was the vision that was in my head since day one, and that’s what I’m always chasing.

Adam: Another personal one for me: we did a tour in March, and my mom had passed away maybe a week or two before. I was unsure how that would make me feel going into the tour and how I’d be able to connect with the music. When we got on state at our hometown dive bar venue , O’Brien’s (shout out), we started to play and it all just melted away. Especially during our song “Indigo”, where I get to really let loose on lead guitar and make as much noise as I can. That specific show and that song was a very cathartic three and a half minutes.

Dylan: I know it just happened, but the set today was special. Looking out and seeing people, we’ve never played Atlanta before or been to Georgia, running to the barricade and singing along to the songs was amazing. Anytime you’re playing live music, you want to be in it, but there’s a level above that flow state where it’s totally spiritual. The goal is always to get there, and to feel that energy today and see it coming back to us was so special. It’s a huge blessing to be here.

Sophie: Less a specific memory and more of something that I noticed happening: the most comfortable places in the world for me are gas stations in the middle of nowhere on the road. I stop at a gas station in the middle of nowhere and think “Holy shit, I know everything in this aisle, I know exactly what it’s going to be like here”. I’ve never felt safer than in a beat-up gas station in the middle of nowhere. Going from that back to the real world, my job, or doing laundry, that’s when this band started to feel more real than anything else.

Chris: I really love all those answers, I appreciate you sharing that with me.

Leaving the Doors Open

Chris: My last question here: it’s been mentioned that you like leaving songs open-ended, allowing listeners to build their own interpretations rather than forcing one single meaning. When you look across the stage and see an audience hearing you for the first time, what do you hope they take away from the noise and energy of your set?

Sophie: In a live set, it’s tough to delve into the lyrics if you can’t hear everything perfectly, but for people seeing us live for the first time, I want them to feel the vibe. We have a vibe that’s intangible and hard to describe, but I want to send that out and have people feel something. It’s easy to just watch a band play, have a cool time, and leave, but I want it to be deeper than that.

Adam: From a lyrical standpoint, ambiguity allows people to apply certain passages to their own lives in a way you don’t get if you give them all the answers. Like Sophie said, I want people to feel something, anything, as they’re watching us. As long as you’re standing there, absorbing what you’re taking in and it makes you feel something mentally or physically, what more could I ask for?

Sophie’s Body debut album Zero, drops October 30th. Follow the band on Instagram @sophiesbody and stream their new single, “Long Term Loaner”, out now!