Absolute Boys
Sandwich Kingdom, 2020
9/10
A California duo comprised of John Metz and Caleb Nichols, who were both formerly members of Grand Lake, as Soft People the married couple previously penned a very political record, but this time around they’re more concerned about discussing the dynamics of relationships on this atypical pop record.
“New Moon” starts the listen with a beat friendly and fuzzy atmosphere of subdued indie-pop that flirts with shoegaze, and they follow it with the quick pace and bright electro-pop of “Shot Through”, which sounds right at home in the ‘80s with its New Wave, synth-rock tendencies.
At the halfway point, “Louis” sounds like it might play at the circus with its hypnotic rhythm, while “William” touches on post-punk with a dreamy quality that’s full of gritty melody. “I Saw The Moon”, one of the album’s best, then illustrates a diverse vocal range as upbeat and playful instrumentation unfolds with a retro-pop appeal.
“22 Lunes” and “Embering” bookend the listen, where the former recruits spoken word poetry amid hand clapping, and the latter exits with a hazy, surreal execution of ambient backing vocals amid blurry song craft.
If names like Curtis, Bowie, Morrissey and Marr mean anything to you, Soft People will certainly find a nice place to reside in your collection between New Order and Tears For Fears and absolutely deserves to be played often.
Travels well with: Pyjamarama- Simple Living; The Persian Leaps- Electrical Living