Inside a bonus room in an Antioch, Tennessee, home, three musicians stand in an equilateral triangle. In the center meets the dissonant sum of amplified guitars, drums and raw, tortured screams.
All facing the center, each member projects emotion at maximum intensity. As the band enters the second half of their EP’s intro “Pathetic, Beautiful,” lead singer Sophie B. shouts “One, two, three, four!”
Despite mental health obstacles, writers’ block and the challenges that come with being a local band, the group — consisting of Sophie B., Demi Nguyen and Abby Floyd — has come a long way from bedroom recordings and songs falling on deaf ears. In a year-and-a-half of performing, Could Be Better achieved regional acclaim for a signature combination of happy chords, screaming vocals and a baked-down instrumental palette.
“I guess the core of the project is simplistic catharsis,” Sophie B. said. “The parts are all pretty simple. But, you know, it’s getting s— out. I write the songs because I feel like I need to.”
When the band formed in November 2023, Sophie B. fully realized her solo songs with the help of Nguyen on bass and Floyd on drums. Only a few months later, the group released its first recording as a band, called “May Demo.”
The second song on the demo begins with Sophie B. melodically tapping the heartstrings on the worn frets of her knockoff Stratocaster. The guitar, spattered with blood and held together at the strap with black duct tape, has seen better days.
“There used to be a lot more. I hit my fingers on the strings a lot,” Sophie B. said. “Over time, I’ll hit away at it, and it will cut [me], and I’ll keep strumming and won’t notice because I’m full of adrenaline. I’ve put hundreds of hours on that guitar.”
During the emotionally confrontational track “Ki Swan, Fighter, 1360 Points,” Sophie B. performs in spoken word: “I wish I could go back in time/and hand my younger self a scalpel/so she could cut herself open/and reveal me hiding underneath her skin/I wish I could go back to acting as a shield protecting a person/I hadn’t yet grown to know/I wish that I could give her that time back.”
The personal, intimate words resemble an earnest diary entry. They communicate the anguish, regret and bittersweet motivation of struggling with one’s gender identity, mental health and relationships that Sophie B. has endured.
“I don’t know how it’s not scarier for me to be as vulnerable as I am,” Sophie B. said.
Sophie B. credits her autism for the nature of her music.
“I constantly feel like I need to scream,” she said.
In the face of these obstacles, the band continues to work hard. Could Be Better headlined a show on March 8, sponsored by Trans Aid Nashville, raising hundreds of dollars for gender-affirming care. They plan to record an album this summer and will perform at DRKMTTR in Nashville on April 4. The band continues to feel through the pain and heal through their music.
“I would be playing these songs for two people if that’s how it was,” Sophie B. said. “Usually, the motivation comes after the big thing. After every show we play, my heart is so overfilled with joy and love.”
Could Be Better’s “May Demo” EP can be found on all streaming services. For future updates, follow @couldbebettertn on Instagram.
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