Soft Kill : Metta World Peace"

Things start with a thicker atmosphere, showing how this project is continuing to progress from being a post-punk band to a hazier vision of new wave that goes off into experimental excursions. By the second track they being to slowly make their way onto the dance floor. The elements that brought this music to life in the 80s are in play here. There is more of a Psychedelic Furs feel to the way the songs moves,. namely the breathy vocals gliding over the guitars. Things are not as dark and emotional, They way the guitar chords ring out reinforce my previous Furs comparison, along with the hushed urgency of the vocals. If you are going for this kind of nostalgic worship this is the way to do it. 

There is more of a witch house feel for "Past Life 2". The 808 like cadence of the drum programming makes it a club slapper for sure, though it is bathed in much greater ambiance than your typical booty shaker.  Evil Pimp drops some verses for "Paranoid" , it pretty much works, though the instrumentation under the rapping is too interestingly layer for something less than a sung melody so it feels like opportunities might be wasted here. Lyrically he is not doing anything all that interesting aside from the trap self deprecation. All problem and no solution. .

"Molly" finds the vocals taking on a more dramatic affectation to give things a more obvious wink to the Cure.  "Veil of the Pain" finds a moody Brit Pop take on dream pop leaning new wave, which is the mix of genres that that sentence turned it into. 'Fuck Boy" in a synth pop ditty that returns to the more Cure like tendencies. The drive of this song works better than the previous such tribute. This album wears it's influences on it's sleeves, but I like the direction it is headed and it helps since I am a fan of the bands this pays homage to . I will give this album an 8.5 for that reason.

Soft Kill : " Canary Yellow"

 Things have changed with this project. Rather than post punk we are getting strummed indie rock, when softer nuanced vocals. Despite the stylistic shift, the music itself is pretty pleasing to my ears. It reminds me a little of the Dears. A more familiar tension possesses the woozy guitar on "Magic Garden". This has more drive than the first song, but for what this project normally does still rather upbeat. They retain the almost Cure like sense of melody on "Rocks & Blows" but it also carries a hopeful sense amid the melancholic underpinnings that remidns me more of the War on Drugs.  The vocals are hushed and urgent.  The running single note guitar lines still carry the 80s in them. 

"Dibs" is more reflective and melodic, but not as compelling as the previous song though it might just need to grow on me. The vocals are pretty plaintive and the breathy quality to them encapsulates the emoting. Not a great singer but making the most of what he has to work with.  Ruth Radelet from the CHromatics joins them to lend her voice to "the Line" , which thus far is the album's best song. It ambles like a less dark version of "Lullaby" the guitar holding a similar cadence.   "Congratulations Text" offers more in the way of dynamics, not the catchiest of vocals though. 

The driving strum of "Cicero"  keeps my attention. The hushed vocals stay consistent with what they have been doing for the bulk of the album. It's about where they fall rather than how they get there. Things get more hopeful when it comes to the mood of "Dominio:  The over dubbed vocal harmonies certainly imitate what Robert Smith would do but if delivered by Jacob Dylan of the Wallflowers. "Lae Shore Drive" has an almost more shoe gaze like fell to the sonic swell it embarks on. One of the albums best songs for sure. This is a change for sure, and while the vocals are not stellar, they get the job done and serve the song, the writing is great, and I enjoy the mood I will give this one a 9.5

Soft Kill : "Dead Kids R.I.P City"

 There is a more 80s new wave touch this time around. The vocals are breathy baritone croon not unlike Jesus and the Mary Chain. The mood is lighter than the Mary Chain gang. Yet darker than the kind of Crowded House pop that dominated the radio during the time this sound pays homage to. They nailed the sound for sure, now lets see what they do with the songs. The second song has little but more of a Cure like drive to to. I like better than the first song. The 80s college pop runs even deeper in the breathy vocals of  "Matty Rue" that features the vocals of Adam Klopp from Choir Boy. They dip into shoegaze on "Floodgate" which finds Tamyrn lending her voice. There is also a slight Smiths  like atmosphere to how the vocals hover.. Which considering they are one of my favorite bands makes this a huge compliment.

 Where atmosphere worked on the previous song , it  causes "Crmey" to blow away in the breeze. There is more balls to the tension of "Pretty Face"? The synths are still pretty thick in the mix, but the song works more often than not. "Ducky" has a little more of a dancey feel to it thought the vocals back off and mutter in hushed tone just over the bass line that holds the song together. "Inverness' finds us back to a more brooding blend of new wave. The bass line once again is the back bone of the song holding it together for them to dream their melodies around. It is a little more Modern English in it's intent. 

"Oil Burner' is another more shoegazing song. Perhaps they are not as skilled at this sound as Nothing, but it works with what is going on here and appreciate the sonic nature of it. The last song is kind of an emo ballad/along the lines of what you might expect from early Foo Fighters. Certainly  veers in a different direction from the rest of the album. I will give this album a 9, it sounds great and the songs are strong. Not sure how much I will listen to it given the fact I already listen to the bands it is drawing influence from. 

Soft Kill : " Heresy"

I am beginning to care less and less about some of the so -called post-punk revival bands. Or maybe I am on the verge of beginning to careless.  If some put out some legitimate tasty darkness, I might get a little more invested. We are five or more years into this wave of it so bands are beginning to make the same album all over again. It is better than your average indie rock fare and I want some one to  get it right and engage me , which brings me to the new one from the Portland band Soft Kill. The first two have a Joy Divisionish indie rock feel , the vocals are sung more than Ian Curtis.  On "Hit the Floor" things take a turn for the darker and a more Cure like ambiance comes in though some of the guitar melodies that are woven around the pulsing drums and bass


There is a little Jesus and the Mary Chain influence to shake things up in "Selfish Love". The vocals drop into a more hushed baritone and the song isn't driving all the way with constant tension. "Current" backs off and lets the guitar melody ring out in a manner more like the Cure's more punk rock early days. Then things return back to a darker place for the title track. The vocals are breathier but in more of Jesus and Mary Chain than Joy Division. The guitar parts are well layered. This album generally sounds good. The mix puts everything in the right place with needed amount of emptiness to give the hollow post- punk coldness.


Overall this album might not be re-inventing the post punk wheel, but they do offer up some well crafted sounds. It hits more than it misses, but like I said and maybe I'm in the minority but with any genre I want to hear something different that twenty other bands are doing. When that is the case it just makes more sense to go listen to who ever did it first because they more than likely did it best, since the idea was still fresh at that point. I'll give this album a 7.5 , it redeems itself in the later half despite ,not a bad start just one that really doesn't stand out and have much dynamic range between the first two songs. This album is being released on 12" lp via No Sun Recordings