Well, you have to give it to the Brooklyn-based band Soft for being perfectionists. They have always taken their sweet, sweet time in getting music ready for the public, which explains why it has taken the band four years to produce their debut LP, Gone Faded. The results are shoegazed pop songs that float on by with ease. The production on the album is a bit less fuzzy than My Bloody Valentine, not nearly as rock as Oasis, yet somehow they pull in both influences to lock in some seriously catchy alt-pop.
Perhaps that is what intrigues me about Soft, as they have managed to drop in the various styles from the past fifteen years of British rock into their material. Layered guitars abound throughout the infectious “Higher,” with a pop hook that is made for the masses. “You Make Me Wanna Die” is where they drift away from the floating-in-the-sky shoegaze and dive headfirst into some serious Gallagher worship. The vocals of Johnny Reineck and guitar lick of Sam Wheeler could have British music fans confused if it were ever to air on the BBC.
Fans of ’90s British music ranging from Catherine Wheel to the Charlatans to a bit of Stone Roses will most likely find songs on Gone Faded that latch on to your eardrums for quite some time. Although they aren’t reinventing the wheel with their brand of indie pop, they have given us a collection of well-crafted songs that sound mighty fine.
