SOFTCULT - 'Shortest Fuse'
Canadian duo Softcult continue their exciting shoegaze / alt-rock fusion with capitalist critique ‘Shortest Fuse’.
Softcult are founded on the DIY partnership of sisters Mercedes and Phoenix Arn-Horn, with the former largely running the responsibility of music video production, and the latter at the helm of track production and artwork. It's a combination of in-house efforts from the duo, resulting in decidedly impressive audio-visual production values, and something that
remains consistent throughout their body of work. It’s allowed Softcult - a band with a long list of singles but no debut album to speak of - to otherwise release music with a focused vision that an album release would account for. Oftentimes bands (especially bands well into their youth) release singles without regard to a focused sense of sound, aesthetic or genre, but rather to engage with a naturally evolving sound. The opposite seems to be the case for Softcult – their dedicated sonic productions, artworks and music video responsibilities have allowed them to seemingly begin from a place of focused aesthetic and sound, almost as if there was never any confusion to begin with.
And Softcult know exactly the sound they’re after. It's a dense, ethereal and regularly colossal fusion of shoegaze, alternative rock and grunge, interlaced frequently at the vocal end with weighty social and political commentaries. Their 2023 releases place this amalgamation on full display; ‘Heaven’ is a glittering kaleidoscope of rushing reverbs and tender vocals, backed by monstrous guitar distortion, ‘Haunt You Still’ is up-tempo alt rock with a weighty Slowdive / My Bloody Valentine inspiration (soaring guitars included), and their 2023 EP ‘See You In The Dark’ is a collection of tracks that solidify Softcult as a power-house unit of alternative rock and shoegaze.
With recent offering ‘Shortest Fuse’, the band once again place their tastes for sprawling, magnetic alternative rock on full display. The band conceived of the track as an indictment of capitalism and its capacity to imprison the underprivileged in a cycle of impoverishment and debt. Mercedes’ lyrical contributions aren’t subtle in this discussion, and nor should they be. She laments the incompetent boss who “forgot the payroll again”, the debasement the impoverished regularly fall victim to in the “selling your guitar to pay rent”, the complacency the capitalist structure gives rise to and the hanging question
“Is this what you call “free enterprise?””, and otherwise how capitalism largely fosters this sense of inescapable servility and docility. Sonically the track is composed of that tried and tested loud-quiet grunge aesthetic; the verse offers relief in the
form of swirling guitar and synth, thudding drums, bass and tense guitar in the background, and the chorus is a wall of distorted guitar, soaring vocals and ambient guitar melody. It’s an effective dynamic that works in sync with the brooding weariness of Mercedes’ vocal efforts. Overall, the track is an abrasive alt-rock / shoegaze effort, one that deftly weaves impressive sonic productions with the intimate melancholies of the vocal subject matter. It stands as another convincing proof of concept for the band.
Simply put, their DIY approach to music production has them standing in a realm all their own and of their own making, and that’s an existence many bands can only dream of.
Words by Harry Meenagh
