There’s nothing like a good alternative rock release, and the self-titled debut EP from Soft No fits that bill entirely perfectly. Soft No came out only last week from the Philly-based band, made up of childhood friends Scott Signorino (guitar), Allie Lannutti (vocals, bass), Austin Lotz (guitar), Jon Martello (drums), and Kate Lowe (keyboard/synth). It features five tracks that were all produced by the band with Mark Watter, who’s done audio engineering work for both Alex G and Hop Along. Soft No has only been together for a little over a year now, with their sound still somewhat loose, with inspirations from several alt-rock subgenres and local Philly music scenes. This includes modern indie rock, 90s grunge, emo, metal, and most prominently – a lot of noisy shoegaze.
All of Soft No’s tracks are well-crafted pieces of noisy, dense, and heavy psychedelia that persistently grab your attention, even if they may lack distinction from each other. For a release that’s only five songs and 16 minutes long, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It functions more as a quick introduction to the band and their talents as opposed to an album that’s more chronological and focused as a full experience. Each track is wonderfully noisy and drenched in layers of instruments and textures. The opener “Keeping Tabs” earns comparison to classic noise rock acts like My Bloody Valentine, with the guitar playing and distortion being consistently impeccable throughout the album. Most of the other songs follow a similar formula with minor differences, such as touches of grunge on “Take Your Word”, metal on “Descender”, and an uptempo garage/punk sound on “Melting Timelines”. The latter tracks are easily my favorites, being just as abrasive as well as enjoyable and fun to rock out to. With a lot of shoegaze and noise rock, the vocals tend to blend into the background, but it feels more intentional here as they function more like an instrument in themselves. I also think the drumming and bass playing are key to many of these songs, as they provide a dynamic rhythm that keeps the songs from becoming too focused on atmosphere. Still, I’d like to hear more of the vocals and lyrics in later releases, even if they’re not what the band currently chooses to emphasize.
Soft No’s debut EP is instantly recommendable to fans of abrasive, heavy alt-rock and shoegaze, and really impressed me as I listened to it. The band’s tight chemistry is center-stage throughout, and I hope they keep working together when creating a more focused LP in the future.
