Soft Science - Sloppy Heads - The Connells
Soft Science have just released their new dreampop single "Kerosene" off their upcoming new album 'Lines' on Shelflife (US) / Spinout Nuggets (UK) / Fastcut (Japan).
Soft Science began working on their recently completed album Lines in 2019, forging the record in their home studios together and at times in isolation from each other during the height of the pandemic, swapping tracks and making adjustments from a distance for what felt like an eternity. Reuniting in person to finalize the mix created a palpable excitement, an energy that can be felt throughout the record. Lines addresses living and loving within the complexities and challenges of everyday life in our fast-paced digital world.
Formed in 2009 by longtime collaborators Katie Haley (Holiday Flyer, California Oranges) and brothers Ross and Matt Levine (Welt, The Tank, California Oranges), the group was later joined by partners Tony and Becky Cale (English Singles, Arts & Leisure), and Hans Munz. With alluring vocals, two 12-string guitars, bass, drums, and synthesizers, the ensemble layers copious melodies, celestial harmonies, and propulsive rhythms with lush electronic soundscapes to create "a sound built to outlast trends" (Chicago Tribune). "It's not often you hear dream pop that's so devastatingly dynamic and driving" (The Big Takeover).
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The first single from Sloppy Heads' Sometimes Just One Second was a real ripper, pleasing from the first howl. The new one's got a stoned and sun-kissed psychedelia that makes it feel like the perfect high summer jam. I've been playing it on repeat and the pleasure gets deeper with each spin of the blissful and patiently dynamic 6-minute track.
The band says that "'Try Again' is a meditation on escaping the somnambulance of day-to-day life, of floating away on a breeze and viewing the world from a remove, at peace." Do yourself the pleasure.
I hear Sloppy Heads as situating somewhere in a brilliant constellation of spirited rock music adventurer stars like Half Japanese and The Vaselines and The Fugs. The record features contributions from James McNew of Yo La Tengo across all tracks. This music is imbued with a sense of pure adventure and joy that is all at once familiar and totally refreshing. It's music made to be loved.
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Craft Recordings is celebrating the 30th anniversary of The Connells’ breakthrough album, Ring, with its first widely available vinyl reissue and a bonus-filled CD. Today the group has also shared a previously unheard live acoustic version of “Running Mary” which is featured along with other recently discovered versions of tracks from Ring on this bonus-filled release.
"For me the songwriting process can be somewhat accidental..." writes guitarist and songwriter Mike Connell. "And often times, it's only long after the fact that I realize that I really like a song. That was the case with 'Running Mary.' It's become one of my favorite songs to perform live."
Long heralded as one of North Carolina’s most successful indie rock bands, The Connells carved out a niche for themselves in the early ‘90s alt-rock scene with their special brand of introspective jangle pop. The band was formed in Raleigh in the early to mid-80s by brothers Mike Connell (vocals, guitar) and David Connell (bass), and soon expanded to include Doug McMillan (vocals), Peele Wimberley (percussion), and George Huntley (guitar, vocals). They played their first show ever in September of 1984, and in 1986, the band released their debut LP, Darker Days, followed by the Mitch Easter-produced Boylan Heights (1987). They continued to build momentum, entering the Billboard 200 with 1989’s Fun & Games and 1990’s One Simple Word, and scoring a string of college radio hits like “Something to Say,” “Stone Cold Yesterday,” and “Get a Gun.”
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