The Ropes

The Ropes are an indie rock duo from New York City, composed of vocalist and bassist Sharon Shy and multi-instrumentalist Toppy. They currently record under the name R. Missing.

For other uses, see The Ropes (disambiguation).
The Ropes
Background information
OriginNew York City, New York, U.S.
GenresDream pop
Indie rock
Shoegaze
Noise pop
Years active2005 (2005)–
LabelsSINLO
Production Dessinee
Talitres Records
Websitetheropesmusic.com
MembersSharon Shy
Toppy

Formation and early work

Shy and Toppy founded the Ropes as a duo in 2005 after meeting as interns at a record label. According to Shy, "While most people seem to bond over things they both like, I think it was a very long shared list of dislikes that kept our initial conversations going."[1] They briefly began performing with a full band in 2006, but after describing working with other band members as “a living hell,”[2] they chose to officially be a duo in early 2008.

The band's first release was a 2006 EP entitled Kill Her Off.[3] It was followed by the Cry to the Beat EP in 2007, with drums performed by Blake Fleming from Mars Volta.[4] On May 6, 2008, the Ropes released a full-length album entitled What They Do For Fun. Music critic Allan Raible chose What They Do For Fun as No. 15 on the ABC News 50 Best Albums of 2008.[5]

The Ropes disowned What They Do For Fun and the preceding EPs, calling them "Grotesque productions from grotesque times in the history of The Ropes, however some still seem to extract a bit of enjoyment and purity from these early recordings. Some of these songs may be revisited in the future… and many show up when we play live."[6]

Releases from 2009-2014

In March 2009, the Ropes released the Be My Gun EP,[7][8] followed by another EP that August, Clubs in Europe Forever.[9] They released the Love is a Chain Store and I Miss You Being Gone EPs in early 2010.[10] The song "I Miss You Being Gone” was playlisted by Irish radio station Phantom 105.2,[11] and "Love is a Chain Store" was playlisted by NME Radio in March 2010.[12][13]

In 2011, the band released the Lack of Technology Made Me a Killer EP along with a video that was premiered at the 2012 SXSW music and film festival.[14] The single "Lack of Technology Made Me a Killer" was chosen as Song of the Day by KEXP (90.3 FM) of Seattle.[15] In October 2013, they released an EP titled The Man Who Refused to Be Born.[16] Two more EPs were released in 2014: I Want It All, So I Can Have Nothing[17] and Sadness Is the Rich Man's Drug.[18]

The Ropes toured throughout the US and UK, opening for acts such as Crocodiles,[19] Innerpartysystem,[20]The Bravery,[4] Chapel Club[21] and Sunday Girl.[21]

The band's second and final LP as the Ropes was Post-Entertainment, released in February 2013. In an IndieRay interview, the duo explained the title: "Post-entertainment is an examination of artist vs. entertainer. They are not one and the same. They are mutually exclusive. In a broader sense, it is an examination of the 'function' that music and art play in life. If art were to win the battle vs. entertainment – you would have Post-entertainment. Currently, one side is decidedly outnumbered."[22]

R. Missing

The Ropes renamed themselves R. Missing and released an album in March 2017 on the Talitres Records label titled Unsummering. Music magazine The Big Takeover wrote: "Unsummering manages to be even more isolated lyrically than The Ropes’ famously nihilistic previous work, fully embracing complete detachment. Musically, fraught guitar and synth textures paint an image of an unstable world, held together only by tightly quantized electronic drum beats and Shy’s coolly dispassionate vocal."[23]

Influences and references

The Ropes have been compared to The Cure, Interpol,[10] Garbage,[24] Poe,[5] The Knife[25] and the Velvet Underground, and they cite 1950s French New Wave as an influence.[20] French magazine Les Inrockuptibles named the Ropes as one of its five bands to watch.[26]

Tricky sampled The Ropes' song "Love is a Chain Store" on the lead single "Does It" from his 2013 album "False Idols".[27]

Discography
  • Kill Her Off single - 2006
  • Cry to the Beat EP - 2008
  • What They Do for Fun LP - May 2008
  • Be My Gun EP - March 2009
  • Clubs in Europe Forever EP - August 2009
  • Love is a Chain Store EP - January 2010
  • I Miss You Being Gone EP - February 2010
  • Lack of Technology Made Me a Killer EP - October 2011
  • Post-entertainment LP - February 2013
  • The Man Who Refused to Be Born EP - October 2013
  • I Want It All, So I Can Have Nothing EP - May 2014
  • Sadness Is the Rich Man's Drug EP - October 2014
  • Unsummering LP (as R. Missing) - March 2017

References
  1. "An interview". www.repeatfanzine.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-06-17.
  2. "Listen To The Ropes' 'Sadness Is the Rich Man's Drug'". Rock NYC. 20 November 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  3. "The Ropes". Discogs. Retrieved 2019-06-17.
  4. Jones, Andrew (5 March 2008). "Strong as rope". The Corner News. Auburn, Alabama. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
  5. Raible, Allan (2 January 2009). "The 50 Best Albums of 2008: Nos. 25 to 1". ABC News. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
  6. "The Ropes - What They Do For Fun". Discogs. Retrieved 2019-06-17.
  7. "Music Video: 'Be My Gun' by The Ropes". Noise Press. Retrieved on 2009-03-26
  8. Raible, Allan (13 April 2009). "Review: The Ropes' "Be My Gun" E.P." On the Record. ABC News. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
  9. "The Ropes "Clubs in Europe Forever"". NeuFutur Magazine. 23 August 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
  10. "The Ropes - Love is a Chain Store [EP]". Altsounds. 21 January 2010. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
  11. Carroll, Jim (10 March 2010). "The Far Side – playlist for Tuesday March 9". On the Record. The Irish Times. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
  12. "The Ropes – "I Miss You Being Gone"". Delusions of Adequacy. 28 April 2010. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
  13. ""LOVE IS A CHAIN STORE" IN ROTATION ON NME RADIO". The Rope's MySpace blog. 4 March 2010. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
  14. "The Ropes - "Lack Of Technology Made Me A Killer" - Music 2012 - SXSW". SXSW. 11 January 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  15. ""Song of the Day: The Ropes - Lack of Technology Made Me a Killer"". kexp.org. 9 November 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  16. "The Ropes - The Man Who Refused To Be Born". Indie Globe. 3 October 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  17. "The Ropes". Vader Evader. 17 May 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  18. "The Ropes – Sadness Is the Rich Man's Drug EP". Kaltblut. 17 November 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  19. "Crocodiles + Milk Maid + The Ropes". whiteheatmayfair.com. 1 June 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  20. Benson, John (6 August 2009). "Ropes try to sound like how band pictures itself". Vindy. Youngstown, Ohio. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
  21. "New Slang welcomes four of this years breaking bands to The Hippodrome this week!". banquetrecords.com. 10 June 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  22. Poppy, Chris. "The Ropes独家采访："所有的艺术家都是娱乐艺人"". IndieRay. IndieRay. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  23. "Album Premiere: Unsummering EP by R. Missing". The Big Takeover. Retrieved 2019-06-17.
  24. Hughey, Jesse (6 March 2008). "Big Red Rooster, Psycho Blues, The Ropes, Braker Lane". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
  25. Pohl, Isabelle (5 April 2009). "Musik Tipp: The Ropes". The Junction (in German). Retrieved 6 May 2010.
  26. ""Cinq groupes à suivre (4)"". lesinrocks.com. 4 June 2010. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  27. ""Tricky Samples "Love Is a Chain Store"". The Ropes' Official Website. 4 March 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
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