Reading’s ever reliable doops do not disappoint with a very solid collection of songs. Out 28th of November.
This album has been a long time coming but the wait has been more than worth it as the quality of the end product is well considered and polished. Half recorded as a three piece of Andy Bingham, Luke Connor and Roddy Bailey and half featuring Cameron Smith of Puma Theory on additional guitar.
The album kicks off with one of the earlier finished tracks. ‘Idle Hands’ is the first of four songs released as singles and this one dates back to 2023. It remains one of the high points with a real sense of pace and purpose. doops drift between different indie genres but they can certainly rock out when the mood takes them. The other 2023 single, ‘Fever Tree’ follows and again, this is well made indie. There is a strong underlying groove and that is something felt throughout the album.
‘EYNW’ is the first unreleased track. It carries on the tone of the first two tracks mixing hints of 1970s style funk-rock and a touch of psychedelia, both elements that flit in and out of their work. There is a lovely scuzzy breakdown on the back-end. ‘Witching Hour’ surfaced back in October, a head nodder that has benefited from the additional time, layering and experimentation. The added production really contributes with what sounds like some good hand drumming, background synths and a spacey, reverberating hint to the vocals.
‘Forget Me-Not’ slows things down just a touch before ‘The Weight’ has the most psychedelic finish on the album. ‘Falling’ has Bingham at his most vocally dexterous, diverting from his controlled singing delivery to unleash some complex strings of phrases in rapid time.
Last single ‘Everything’s Fine’ is the stand-out track, the strong groove occasionally disintegrating into fragments of a rock out – it feels part Radiohead, part Madchester and it should be the law that it gets played at any Reading indie-club night for at least the next five years.
Every track has something to offer individually but collectively it feels like a cohesive whole that makes sense. doops have done well. Don’t forget to go see them at the Purple Turtle this Saturday the 29th of November!
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