You know how time passes and then the turning of a new season hits you in the head like a ton of bricks? And then you realize, “Oh no, I’ve missed the release of Soft No’s second EP Super Neutral?” No worries, friends. Though time may drag us onward with the speed of a runaway eighteen-wheeler rolling down I-95, it’s never too late to listen to one of Philly’s rising dream pop/emo (aka “dreamo”) bands.
I covered Soft No’s single “Probably Fine” back in May, raving at the sound which was both ethereal (a remnant of the band’s sound from their first EP) and edgy (a hint at their future direction). On Super Neutral, Soft No toe that line with expert precision, pairing the reverb and airy synths with the crunch of heavy guitars and pounding guitars.
“But what does “super neutral” mean?”, you may ask, scratching your head with the slight tinge of desperation in your voice. If you search Google, its terrible new chat bot will tell you that a super neutral is an oversized conductor used in electrical systems to prevent overheating and overloading. If you ask Soft No’s vocalist/bassist Allison Lannutti, however, she’ll say the name is derived from a few things: Keeping the peace with family in a politically-charged climate, dealing with the pressure of stepping out of one’s comfort zone, and not letting criticism build up and keep art from flowing naturally. In a way, those two explanations relate: The album is all about finding balance.
“Balance” describes the sound of Super Neutral, not just in how it blends the dream pop and emo punk elements, but in how all the members of the band come together to shape the sound. “We did our due diligence to not overly critique these songs,” says lead guitarist/co-lead vocalist Austin Lotz. “We tapped into everyone’s tastes, and let the music come out naturally.”
Rhythm guitarist Scott Signorino adds: “Everybody is more present on this EP… If you listen to our last EP, which I love, it featured some of the first songs I wrote on guitar. The way it came out sounding wasn’t intentional.” It’s true that on the band’s debut self-titled EP, there is a sense of the band finding their sound, and while they did it well, a second or third pass through the record will uncover hints of Soft No feeling each other out. On Super Neutral, the quintet’s solidified their sound, and they’ve learned how to groove with each other while giving each member a chance to shine.
With the band feeling a little more comfortable with each other, they felt at ease enough to take some musical risks. “I come from the shoegaze world, but I was restless with that and wanted to do something more fun and punky,” says Lannutti, hinting at the more rock-forward sounds on the record. The fuzzy overdriven guitars still give shoegaze fans a little love, especially on “Done”, and “Don’t They Love You?” dips headfirst into goth territory. The range of new sounds on Super Neutral showcases how the band’s evolved over the past couple of years since their first release.
And while the EP’s got the sonic balance, Soft No still bring the volume. You have the opening blaring guitars of “Oxford Street” to Lannutti’s commanding vocals on “Probably Fine”. You have Jonathan Martello’s smashing drums and Katherine Lowe’s haunting keys on the title track. In fact, Soft No’s sound is anything but “super neutral”: It pops, crackles, and bursts like a capacitor catching fire. But isn’t that the point of music: To carry forth emotion through rhythm and melody, in order to provide a conduit for an overloading system, and therefore create balance?
In any case, I’m quite glad to have returned to the world of Soft No and given their new EP Super Neutral a spin. You can listen to “Done” from the record below. And while you’re at it, take a look at some tour dates and see if you’ll catch the Philly act near you this summer.
TOUR DATES:
July 10 – Philadelphia, PA (The Grape)
July 17 – Allentown, PA (Soft Machine Gallery)
July 18 – Merchantville, NJ (Old Post)
August 13 – New York, NY (Night Club 101)
August 14 – Montreal, Quebec (Turbo Haüs III)
August 15 – Toronto, Ontario (Monarch Tavern)
August 16 – Scranton, PA (The Dungeon in The Ritz Building)
Written by Will Sisskind
