I’m noticing a lot of backwards-looking bands surfacing in the States right now, and the time-period they’re looking back to is the heyday of the earlier 120 Minutes years. It was a time with a bunch of amazing bands just bubbling under the surface of the mainstream. A few of them broke through (The Smiths, The Cure) and some were doomed to forever languish in the American cut-out bins, having just missed connecting with U.S. listeners (The Stone Roses, Suede … they should have been huge here). The nice thing is that the current crop of musicians isn’t just displaying fealty through mimicry, they’re making the whole thing their own (see: Airiel).
I just got this tune in from Soft, and if the rest of their album is even half this good, they definitely fall into the category of bands successfully mining the past for a sound that’s bracing and refreshing at the same time. Dreamy vocals, chiming guitars, a Madchester-ish lope; all the ingredients come together to craft a lovely slice of sunshine between your ears.
MP3: Soft “Higher”
