_{Text: Evelyne Gorter}

Today, the Amsterdam based band Loupe releases their first EP Older. We have been following three of the four band members, Lana (bass), Annemarie (drums) and Jasmine (guitar), since the time they were touring with their previous band Dakota in the year 2017 with, Popronde, a Dutch music festival to discover upcoming artists in more than 40 cities. We were very curious about the EP. How would ‘Older’ sound, recorded in a single take, and how does singer Julia form the complementary link to the trio? 

Loupe makes, as they describe it themselves, “atmospheric indie rock songs”. On Older there are four new songs with the familiar sound of dreampop with the power of soaring guitars, which these musicians have mastered so well. Lana’s recognisable bass lines can be heard on their first single ‘Leave Me There’, which is about finding peace in a busy city. Their second single ‘Fair Enough’ also reminds us a lot of their earlier work within Dakota and we are so glad that this success formula has not been lost, but will be continued in Loupe.

Because we think that the EP ‘Older’ is actually too short and we would love to hear more from this band, we travelled to Popronde Rotterdam last Saturday, where Loupe gave a performance at the Rotterdam Theatre. Next to the songs on the EP, the band played a lot of new work and after a subdued start, due to voice problems of Julia, we were treated to a smashing end. So we think it is completely logical that Loupe is selected to play at ESNS ’21. The played songs make us long for an album, until then we keep ‘Older’ on repeat. 

Excelsior Recordings