The Vancouver band Dead Soft make music that is redolent of the best sounds from Nineties-era indie. The group's new record, Big Blue is out on Friday via Arts & Crafts. If the album is reminiscent of stuff from earlier decades, at least the release is an invigorating listen.
Opener "I Believe You" has a pleasant roar like something from Weezer or The Grifters, while "The Wind" is harder, recalling a tiny bit tunes from The Muffs, of all things. Elsewhere, "Step Out" is pure college rock, like the best stuff from when Clinton was president. There's a bit of Archers of Loaf here, and a whole lot of Pavement and Weezer. At their best, like on the tuneful "Whatever I Want", the trio blend a grunge-influenced roughness with a very nice sense of how to create melodic power pop. And on "Problems" the band sound a tiny bit like a much harder version of Fountains of Wayne. I can think of no higher praise than that, really. I mean, there's a lot that feels familiar here, but the music of Dead Soft kept me entertained and tapping my feet all throughout the length of Big Blue.
Big Blue is out on Friday via Arts & Crafts.
More details on Dead Soft via the band's official Facebook page, or their official website.
[Photo: Walter Wagner]