As the UK’s indie-punk boom continues to rattle on, it’s become clear that its acts have begun to fall into two camps. There are the acts like Muncie Girls, those seen as the faces of the genre on both a public and industry level, and then there are those like Happy Accidents, the bands that seem perennially on the back-burner despite releasing some great albums. And with ‘Some Things Last Longer Than You’, Doe fall straight in the latter bracket.
That’s not to say that Doe are a bad band, not by any stretch. It’s just that this debut full-length shows the London trio brazenly displaying a far quirkier outlook than their peers. ‘Sincere’ has some thick, Futureheads-style backing vocals to bolster it, and the bulk of opener ‘No. 1’’s lyrical content is the phrase “No one” repeated ad infinitum.
Of course, Doe still keep to the traditional indie-punk formula at various points. ‘Anywhere’ is a sweet little indie banger, and the lolling ‘Last Ditch’ remains bright even with its crunchy, grunge-flavoured guitars. And even though on the face of it, these tracks can seem rather run-of-the-mill, they’re given a unique, recognisable identity thanks to Nicola Leel’s squalling vocals.
Still, in comparison to some of their peers, Doe don’t have the same level of pop-friendly accessibility as their peers, and it can make them harder to recommend above some of the breezier acts in their field. But for something a bit more off-kilter that still fits snugly into the indie-punk mould, ‘Some Things Last Longer Than You’ fits the bill wonderfully. The status of “underground success story” is one that Doe will bear much sooner than later.
3.5/5
‘Some Things Last Longer Than You’ by Doe is released on 9th September on Specialist Subject Records
Doe links: Website|Facebook|Twitter
Words by Luke Nuttall (@nuttall_luke)
