20/06/25
“The Sophs arrived out of the great blue yonder,” says Rough Trade co-founders Geoff Travis and Jeannette Lee of the label’s newest signing, LA six-piece The Sophs. The band’s brutal honesty, flamingly intrusive thoughts, and broad genre-spreading caught their attention immediately. Rough Trade heard the sort of creativity and variety — and “don’t expect me to act pretty” sentiment — that could get The Sophs — including frontman Ethan Ramon, Sam Yuh (keyboards), Austin Parker Jones (electric guitar), Seth Smades (acoustic guitar), Devin Russ (drums), and Cole Bobbitt (bass) — a slot on nearly any stage. “It’s rare that a demo that arrives in the post sets your heart racing and sends you off on a quest to track down its sender. But that’s what happened when we listened to the music sent to us by Ethan Ramon,” Travis and Lee explain.
“As a band newly entering the public sphere, signing with Rough Trade felt like an act of symbiotic faith. They took as much of an interpersonal interest in us as we did in them. From late nights at the pub to earnest conversations about the real-life events that inspired our songs, Rough Trade has always been and continues to be a team of true music lovers - people we’re nothing short of honored to call our partners,” says Ramon of their signing to the esteemed indie label.
To celebrate the signing and announcement, Rough Trade is releasing The Sophs’ debut track today ‘SWEAT’ alongside a Lynchian video which captures the tension of the song, finding beauty in the discomfort of it all - a theme that Ramon says is “not only the essence of the song, but of the band and its message as a whole.”
Ramon further elaborates on ‘SWEAT’, “To me, the song feels like an attempt to overcompensate in the face of grief, one that fails misterably and ends with you being swallowed whole. I tried to capture the moment when the tension breaks and you realize you’re no longer in control of your emotions; your emotions are in control of you. That realization is humbling.”
The Sophs will play a free hometown show in Los Angeles on May 30th at Permanent Records Roadhouse (RSVP here) before playing several more shows in California this summer and then stops in NYC and London this fall, including a spot at the UK’s End of the Road Festival in August. All tour dates are below and tickets for all dates are on-sale now.
Tracklisting:
A Side: SWEAT
B Side: At Your Worst (You Tried Your Best)