To my surprise, I had never before mixed “dream pop” and “emo” together to form the word “dreamo”. Then Soft No used it to describe their music, especially their new single “Probably Fine” and its accompanying music video, and I thought, “Yeah, that makes sense.”
Soft No come from Philadelphia and consist of Allison Lannutti (vox/bass), Scott Signorino (rhythm guitar), Austin Lotz (lead guitar/vox), Kate Lowe (keys/piano/synths), and Jonathan Martello (drums/percussion). They’ve got their new EP Super Neutral ready to drop on May 29th, taking influence from bands like The Promise Ring, Rainer Maria, and The Breeders. But since forming in 2022, the band has formed an edgy and ethereal sound all their own. Playing live shows in and around Philly has helped them hone their musical style and aesthetic.
“Probably Fine” showcases the musical core of Super Neutral and the band’s overall sound: Fuzzy ’90-inspired emo with Lannutti’s vocals punching through the noise, with everything sounding disaffected but full of fury. Lannutti’s vocals have sounded more muted in the shoegaze style on previous tracks, but this time she lets them burn a little hotter, seething as she sings: “Nothing feels right when I’m losing time, I think about the weather / It only feels safe ’til you rearrange / I think I’ll try to get better.”
The music video paints the dreamy emo – rather – “dreamo” nature of the track. When writing the music, drummer Jon Martello wanted to evoke the kinds of videos he would see on MTV’s 120 Minutes at 11:00 at night back in the day. The video echoes the music, full of off-kilter and oversaturated shots of the band at a birthday party, looking both disaffected and delighted at the same time.
Overall, Soft No looks and sounds like they’re all having fun forming their sound, and besides releasing their new EP, they’re playing several shows around the northeastern US and taking their sound international (to Canada.) All good things: It’s about time they broke out of the Philly scene.
Take a listen to “Probably Fine” below, and be on the lookout for Super Neutral when it comes out on May 29th.
Written by Will Sisskind
