My friends, I have been remiss: I received an e-mail a few weeks ago from John Reineck, of the band Soft, asking me to give the band’s new single “Higher” (download) a spin, and spin it I have. Quite a few times, matter of fact, and yet I haven’t posted anything about it up ’til now. Why not? I don’t know. I suck, I guess (ask a Kate Bush fan).
Maybe you’ve never heard of Soft. I hadn’t. By point of reference, they’ve been kinda-sorta compared to bands like Stone Roses, Spiritualized, and My Bloody Valentine, and all of those comparisons are apt in their own way. Based solely on “Higher,” though, I’m inclined to say Soft writes better songs than any of those bands (and if you parse what I’m saying here properly, you’ll see I’m not insulting any of the above).
Fuck it, I’ll explain. I think all those bands had/have a great aesthetic and loads of attitude, and I think that went a long way toward obscuring their general trend away from great old-fashioned pop tunesmithery. Soft takes some of the aesthetic, some of the ‘tude, and a great song, and you get “Higher.” It’s free, courtesy of the band, and I’m gratified not to have to tell you that I think it sucks, because that would be awkward. Like it? Buy the EP.
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