As the opening murmurs of ‘(NOT A) LOVE SONG’ begin and lead singer Ryan Lofthouse bounds onto stage at the O2 Academy Islington with green hair bouncing and self-titled ‘bin man trousers’, it’s clear SOAP have just come off an arena tour.
Bursting with character, the budding artists that hit the road on a first U.K. headline tour nearly two years ago are now fully-fledged stars.
A lot of that growth has come this autumn. Ryan, Cooper Stout and Joshua Lima have been officially joined by drummer Noah Lima and the group have changed names from The Tyne to SOAP – the new alias is plastered over the old one across the kick drum, as well as a huge white sheet background.
The cosy O2 Academy Islington is a revered stepping stone for rising stars on the up in the industry, SOAP follow Paramore, Fall Out Boy and The Script in taking to its stage – and while the setting is intimate, there’s nothing low-key about the band’s set.
Frontman Ryan has taken showmanship to new heights since the group supported Busted across U.K. arenas this year. While that newfound poise allows him to banter with a heckler moaning over the name change – ‘I hope you like it, sorry if you don’t,’ he quips – he’s at his most natural when leading the jumps to early single ‘DEMONS’.
There’s plenty of time for covers in the punchy 50-minute set with SOAP turning Gwen Stefani hit ‘Sweet Escape’ into their own with such ease it takes a verse to clock it’s not come from one of their own EPs.
Bruno Mars’ ‘Runaway Baby’ gets the same trademark SOAP treatment and Bronnie joins the group on stage to kick the night up a gear with a cover of My Chemical Romance’s ‘Teenagers’.
What’s so great about a SOAP show, is it’s clear how much the four-piece is loving their music. ‘Happy Alone’ is another unreleased ditty that feels great live despite its down-and-out lyrics and ‘All By Myself’ was only written last week but liked so much it’s tossed in the setlist.
SOAP cool things down for the endearing coming-of-age track ‘TOO MANY LIGHTS’ before amping it back up again for debut single ‘JESSICA’. That song had a real moment in the band’s headline show two years ago and goes off with the same bang all these months on.
The night ends on latest single ‘Bad Mood’, a catchy anthem that comes straight out of the Busted playbook. “This is just the beginning for SOAP,” Ryan reminds the O2 Academy Islington just before they leave the stage with huge grins. The lead singer isn’t wrong, there’s so much to love about SOAP and the feeling there is so much more to come.
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