Dutch indie rock quartet Loupe are setting the summer right. The group make a brand of indie rock that is grounded yet groovy; breezy but interesting. Today they celebrate the birth of their first album, Do You Ever Wonder What Comes Next? Running about 45 minutes, the record needles its way through several flavors of indie, with sweeping guitars, resolute vocals, and production glitz, rounded out by steady, organic drums. Sonically, a case can be made for describing them as a poppier Warpaint, or dreamier Metric, but attempts to simplify would be in vain, as the group have a sensibility to them that is unique – especially for hailing from a dance hub like Amsterdam.
Do You Ever Wonder What Comes Next? tackles the themes of youth and young adulthood, growing up in the city, and change. “For me it was all a kind of transition,” says frontwoman Julia Korthouwer, “with on the one hand the new life and all the cool things that come with it. And on the other hand, the uncertainty of being alone in the big city and the adult world.” From the large alt ethos of “Catch My Swing” to the smoothness of “I Keep Changing,” it’s a debut that covers a lot of ground and likely sounds even better where it belongs, on stage. No strangers to the road, the band has plenty of plans for that across Western Europe and the U.K. this summer including a few big festivals and a sold out tour with Brighton’s Lovejoy.
Words by Andy Gorel
Photos by Nick Helderman
“Do You Ever Wonder What Comes Next? is an album that feels both lyrically and musically very personal to us. The album is about growth; falling and getting back up to try again, or choosing a different path.”
“We recorded the album in the Schenk studio in Amsterdam with producer Arne van Petegem, who really helped us define and elevate our sound and songwriting. A lot of songs on the album could have turned out in a different way; for example ‘Warning sign’ was supposed to be just an interlude, but we all loved it so much that it now is one of the longest and most layered tracks on the album, and ‘So far so good’ was initially intended to be an intimate acoustic song, but now has somewhat of an 80’s or post-punk vibe to it.
I guess the beauty of the album is that all four of us are really happy with each individual song on the album, and that feels pretty special.”
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