Emerging as the newest artist to champion the genre made famous by the likes of Kate Nash and Lily Allen, relative newcomer SOFY finds herself in the company of artists such as Caity Baser, Lauran Hibberd, and Phoebe Green in dominating the female/non-binary infectious pop scene. Known for her tongue-in-cheek narratives, witty jabs at society, and relentless pop energy, SOFY’s reputation more than precedes her as her discography boasts deep-cutting lyrics and impressive pop instrumentation.
Despite only having released her debut record, Chaos & Commotion, just over a month ago, the Leicester-born SOFY has already managed to amass a cult following of loyal fans ready to follow her around the country and spread her indie-rock gospel as her ‘street team‘. From dreaming about seducing her favourite actor (and imaginary boyfriend) (‘Timothée Chalamet‘), romanticising the relationship-defining act of swapping clothing (‘socks’), and chastising ‘lad’ culture (‘Lads! Lads! Lads!’ & ‘Ashley Cole Type Beat’), SOFY truly has all bases covered when it comes to pop-narratives, and she has a live performance to match.
The last date of her UK Winter tour, after an impressive three-night residency at London’s The Grace, sees SOFY take over Manchester’s infamous YES basement. Completely confident without an ounce of pretentiousness, her dominating stage presence aids in conveying the self-love messages veined throughout her discography. Catering to fans old and new, the crowd were happy to indulge both SOFY’s more recent releases (‘supermarket’), as well as dives into her older cuts (‘Strawberry Milkshake’), her well-rounded set birthed a short but sweet pit-stop tour of SOFY’s musical evolution.
SOFY opened the set with the first single to be released from her recent project – ‘Yoyo’, which saw fans revel in pure-pop magnificence and echo lyrics back to the Leicester-native in the most fantastical way.
Paired together for a fantastic display of indie-pop prowess, ‘Egomaniac’ and ‘Wet Paint’ showcase SOFY at her absolute finest. Complete with playful lyrics, infectious beats, and soaring melodies, both, while having opposing narratives, are completely sonically complementary and sit as one of the high-points of the set. While the former focusses on being a breakup revenge track, the latter directly juxtaposes and dotes on romantic temptation, begging for mischief and chaos.
Speeding through the gentle opening of ‘Supermarket’ and laid-back melodies and confrontation-avoidance of ‘No Drama’ we arrive at ‘Breathing Exercises’ (where she was joined by CASSIA) that notes extensively on mental health (“I’m kinda nervous and I don’t know why / Not been the same and now I’m 25”), all the while boasting a still overtly-positive atmosphere.
Rounding off with the FIFA-featured ‘Big Talk’, SOFY bids adieu to her YES takeover, as well as her biggest headline tour yet.
Set for complete world domination, SOFY is defining a new generation of indie pop – and at the end of the day, it’s SOFY’s world, we’re all just living in it.
Words and photos by Lana Williams
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