Artist: Soft Science
Album: Detour
GENRE...: Indie
LABEL...: Test Pattern SCENE DATE.: 2015-02-03
bITRATE.: 320 kbps avg STORE DATE.: 2014-02-11
ENCODER.: LAME3.99r TRACKS.....: 10
SiZE....: 75.11MB SOURCE.....: WEB
- TRACKLIST
1 Nothing 3:23
2 Light 3:55
3 Feel 3:53
4 Matter 3:14
5 Gone 3:52
6 Blue 3:00
7 Please 3:35
8 Falling 3:23
9 Cold 2:47
10 Daydream 1:33
Total Playtime: 32:35
URL..: https://testpatternrecords.bandcamp.com/album/detour
- NOTES
Extremely limited vinyl LP pressing including digital download. Soft
Science, from Sacramento, California, creates a unique form of Dream Pop,
inspired by '90s Shoegaze and '60s British Pop. The group is comprised of
Katie Haley (Holiday Flyer), and twin brothers Ross and Matt Levine (Welt,
The Tank), and bass player Mason DeMusey (Forever Goldrush). In 2011, Soft
Science released their debut album, High and Lows. Pop Matters said in its
review that the band ''has the potential to become one of the great Left
Coast Power Pop bands.'' Detour expands on ideas developed in their previous
venture: creating Pop music with a sonic edge. Although the band never
steers too far from its core Pop sensibilities, Detour evokes a somewhat
darker mood musically than Soft Science's previous work. Soft Science band
members have a shared love of classic bands such as, Ride, The Jesus And
Mary Chain, and newer artists such as Beach House and Frankie Rose, elements
of which are present in their music.
+++
There is some crafty, folk-tinged pop/rock being made here, and it comes
from Soft Science of Sacramento. This 4-piece make some powerful sounds
here, from the delicate-yet-strong vocals of Katie Haley and the
musicianship of drummer/keyboardist Ross Levine, guitarist Matt Levine, and
bassist Mason ôI am not a Levineö DeMusey. I think what works with these
songs is that each one sounds like they are ready-made hits, or if that
radio were to put them into heavy rotation, it could lead to these guys
being successful in what they do, and thatÆs partly due to having a very
catchy sound that people wouldnÆt get weary of. I hear shades of other bands
but I also hear a group that is evolving into developing their own sound,
showing the influences but also putting together something that will make
them unique. ItÆs the playing, the singing, and the compositions, and itÆs
nice to hear a band that knows and understands the importance of all three.
+++
The bad: the current resurgence of shoegazer/ethereal pop music is full of
great bands. Although most of the music is great, almost all of it is nearly
indistinguishable from what inspired it in the first place. The talent in
these bands is commendable, but what they lack is vision. It is in this crop
of bands that Sacramento CaliforniaÆs Soft Science emerges. The bandÆs
music, and most notably lead vocalist Katie HayleyÆs vocals, have an
unmistakable resemblance to the band Lush, one of the defining acts of the
shoegazer/ethereal pop scene. It is not even that Hayley has a natural
singing style similar to that of the Miki Berenyi/Emma Anderson combination.
But in fact there are hints of imitation in her singing, which makes her
otherwise beautiful vocals sound contrived.bim_ad_daily_vault_print_250
The good: amid the all-too-familiar shoegazer sound on Detour, there are
diversions that donÆt sound as derivative. This quartet mixes elements of
æ60s Britpop that add a refreshing twist to the music found here. The
outcome is a blend of sprightly pop music thatÆs as warm and sunny as the
groupÆs native city. Tracks like ôCold,ö ôBlue,ö and ôPleaseö have the
optimistic Britpop sound that resembles the romance and the jauntiness of
the æ60s. On the other hand, the sound gets grittier on cuts like ôFallingö
and ôFreeö that feature muscular guitars, resembling the Britpop bands that
were more the imitators of The Rolling Stones than The Beach Boys.
The not-so-ugly: there are songs like ôNothing,ö ôLight,ö ôMatter,ö and
ôGone,ö the less sanguine and more circumspect material with the strongest
shoegazer connection. Now, this could be good or bad depending upon where
the listener stands on the snobbery scale. But (as the one-word titles would
suggest) Detour is held together by simplicity and none of the heavy serious
stuff. The band is content as long as they are creating a sunny pop song. So
for the snobs who have a problem and question Soft ScienceÆs originality,
the band would gladly tell them to go piss off û but only in not so harsh
words, being the chilled-out, peace-loving, and fun creatures that these
band members are.
+++
If you like dreamy pop, I urge you to check out the sophomore album, Detour,
from SacramentoÆs Soft Science. Singer Katie HaleyÆs voice sounds like
LushÆs Miki Berenyi on many tracks particularly the opener ôNothingö which
is a bit sweet and a bit grayish. ôLightö features more drums and churning
guitar. Gorgeous. HaleyÆs strong yet lilting vocals gives Soft Science the
ability to combine darkness and light, creating attractive, unique songs.
But then Soft Science flips the script on the much more upbeat ôBlueö and
psychedelic ôFalling.ö Steeped in 90s shoegaze and Britpop but embracing new
technological elements and themes, it all works. I adore it. But IÆve a
weakness for anything kinda Goth, ethereal.