(Review by Peter Greenfield)
JOPY + EVERYDAY SAINTS – THE HOPE & RUIN (BAR), BRIGHTON 20.9.24
As part of Jopy‘s September tour in support of the release of their ‘Planet Zombie’ EP on local label Goo Records, they played a home show at Brighton’s Hope & Ruin on the day of its release.
Jopy are a Brighton based three-piece band led by songwriter Jo Parnell (vocals and guitar) and completing the line up are Clown Baby (bass) and Louis Relf (drums). Their glam punk sound has rousing post-punk riffs and frantically infectious choruses.
From the opening song ‘Graveyard Romance’ Jopy’s fresh take on post-punk pop was clear. ‘Ka Ka Killer’ had influences from glam rock and its fast pace showed Jo’s vocal dexterity to good effect. With the topics of those opening songs, it wasn’t a macabre sound but upbeat camp-horror, think ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’. Jopy soon had the packed crowd dancing along to their catchy tunes. The unreleased song ‘Twisting’ with its thumping stomping sound had echoes of The Cramps.
The intro to ‘Head Hunters Pub And Grub’, the lead single from the EP, was instantly picked up by the excited crowd. Throughout the set Clown Baby’s bass and Louis’s drums set a solid foundation to Jopy’s sound. ‘Head Hunters’ featured one of the best guitar parts from Jo. As well as great musicality, this song about “Cannibals that own and operate a pub, eat the customers and get superpowers from eating them” was another example of the wry and witty side to Jopy.
While Jo leading from the front was full of energy from the outset, despite her apology at the start for having a cold, bassist Clown Baby grew into the set, becoming more animated as the set developed.
The title track of the EP ‘Planet Zombie’ had more of a rock feel in places, while ‘Headshot’ had more of a jangly indie Brit-pop sound. The latter featured great fast guitar parts from Jo. Jopy slowed the pace slightly for their closing two songs. ‘Honey The Vampire’ combined indie-rock with a psychedelic twist.
Their final number of the evening ‘Purchase No.3’ was introduced as being “On the EP. That’s the last plug”, before Jo joked “Did we mention our EP?” ‘Purchase No.3’ started as the most mellow song of the set. It had a 1960’s psychedelic, trippy, dreamlike pop quality. Its instrumental part steadily built to a closing crescendo to close a great set. Judging by the smiles on the faces of the band and the applause and cheers from the audience, it’s fair to say everybody there would agree it was a great performance by Jopy.
I’ve seen Jopy a few times before, and their live performances get better every time. Jopy were sharper and more polished and confident, without compromising their raw energy and sense of fun which creates that special live music experience.
You can catch Jopy, when they play the Goo Records x Hidden Herd All-Dayer at The Hope & Ruin on Saturday 7th December 2024 – Purchase your tickets HERE.
Jopy:
Jo Parnell (she/her) – vocals/guitar
Clown Baby (they/them) – bass
Louis Relf (he/him) – drums
Jopy setlist:
‘Graveyard Romance’ (from 2024 ‘Planet Zombie’ EP)
‘Ka Ka Killer’ (a 2023 single release)
‘Twisting’ (unreleased)
‘Head Hunters Pub And Grub’ (from 2024 ‘Planet Zombie’ EP)
‘Planet Zombie’ (from 2024 ‘Planet Zombie’ EP)
‘Birdwatching’ (from 2024 ‘Planet Zombie’ EP)
‘Headshot’ (a 2023 single release)
‘Honey The Vampire’ (from 2024 ‘Planet Zombie’ EP)
‘Purchase No.3’ (from 2024 ‘Planet Zombie’ EP)
Support for Jopy came from local Brighton based band Everyday Saints, which was started by Pip Rainbird (guitar / co-vocals) as a solo bedroom project. She was joined by Jade Middleton (synths / co-vocals), Amelia Holder (bass), Alex Mold (drums), with George Clark (lead guitar) joining last year to complete their lineup.
I’ll break from the norm, and begin with my review of Everyday Saints with their soundcheck. Arriving early, the unaccompanied vocal harmonies of Pip and Jade in the soundcheck were stunning and a taste of what was to follow.
Everyday Saints opened with ‘Salem’ which started with Pip and Jade singing to its synth introduction. The song stepped up a gear as George came in on guitar and Amelia on the 5-string bass. Their second song ‘Guts/Glory’ had a great spooky goth-like feel. Pip introduced ‘Soma’, a softer song, as “about shagging people at work”. ‘Guts/Glory’ and ‘Soma’ showed different sides of Pip’s vocals, with more anger in the first and then emotional vulnerability in the second of those songs.
All but two songs in Everyday Saints’ set were unreleased numbers. Hence this year’s single release ‘Rumspringa’ was plugged as “from Spotify”. This really showcased the wonderful vocal harmonies between Pip and Jade, as they also swapped lead on this track. The guitars seemed more prominent on ‘Rumspringa’ than when I’ve heard it played before. George even stepped into the audience to play briefly during this track.
Everyday Saints joked about “taking a nap over the summer”. From Friday’s showing they seem to have returned with a punchier sound with guitar rock elements. Thankfully this hasn’t eclipsed the Everyday Saints sound of disco synth, Amelia’s brilliant bass lines, and as I’ve mentioned those vocal harmonies.
On ‘She Said’ there was a drop in tempo at the start. Pip’s more forthright vocal style on this song was superbly contrasted with Jade’s softer singing. The song built impressively, led by Alex’s drums. ‘Lake Of Fire’, which followed, also built from a slower start from its haunting opening to a rockier track by its close.
The spooky disco synth on the intro of their final number was instantly recognisable as ‘Distress Yourself’. Their atmospheric synth pop, darkwave sound managed to cleverly span melancholy and upbeat. It seemed appropriate that the song and Everyday Saints’ set should end with Pip and Jade sharing their two microphones to sing together.
Everyday Saints:
Pip Rainbird (she/her) – vocals/guitar
Jade Middleton (she/her) – vocals/synth
George Clark (they/them) – lead guitar
Amelia Holder (she/they) – bass
Alex Mold (he/him) – drums
Everyday Saints setlist:
‘Salem’
‘Guts/Glory’
‘Soma’ ’Rumspringa’ (a 2024 single release)
‘She Said’
‘Lake of Fire’
‘Distress Yourself’ (a 2022 single release)
