Having experienced first-hand the incredible beauty of music by the likes of Cocteau Twins and Slowdive, old dudes like me often have trouble accepting music like that is still being made. This was before words like “alternative” and “shoegaze” started being used by record companies and music television to sell music they couldn’t explain. Bands like My Bloody Valentine and This Mortal Coil didn’t fit into nice little boxes, and we didn’t either. This music helped us belong to the world in a way that didn’t require price tags, and for that reason remains precious; almost sacrosanct.
To join these halls of reverence today requires the kind of authenticity and fearlessness seen in dreams (Beach House, Daughter). It’s experienced through the pain of feeling unloved, brokenhearted, or extreme versions of the opposite (Chelsea Wolfe, Lingua Ignota, Cigarettes After Sex). There is a young Canadian duo I feel confident adding to the list. Twin siblings Mercedes (she/her) and Phoenix (they/them) Arn-Horn, also known as Softcult.
Softcult‘s new single “Love Song” is a striking example of dream pop songwriting, reminding us of the wisdom that can be found in letting go; by embracing the mindlessness of love even when the end seems inevitable.
The 6 song EP, See You in the Dark will be out March 24th on Easy Life Records.
Softcult on Bandcamp.
Softcult on Amazon.
“This is an anxious love song,” Mercedes explains. “It’s about loving someone so intensely that you find yourself in constant fear of losing them. Sometimes love and happiness can feel like these unattainable things that are too good to be true. Once we’ve finally found something our hearts have been yearning for, it’s hard to shake the thought that we will inevitably have to let it go. But these gnawing thoughts can get in the way of us allowing ourselves to be vulnerable, or enjoying our relationships for fear that they won’t last.”
Source: Prescription PR
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