Softcult Prove Themselves Masters of Ambience With 'See You In The Dark'
Photo: Pearl Cook
Softcult’s See You In The Dark is the indie shoegaze soundtrack of your dreams. Phoenix and Mercedes Arn-Horn have unveiled their long-awaited EP, a poignant sequel to their two previous works of grungy grandeur.
“Drain” opens the EP with a feedback-fueled wave of angst, guitars wailing out a bitter progression. The song itself is a wake-up call, but Softcult style. Anger exists alongside hopefulness and passion feeds the fire of the arrangement rather than despair. The duo poses the question, “Why should we dare to live forever / if nobody cares to change for the better?”
An angsty guitar riff introduces us to “Dress,” which is built around the smoky, '80s sound. The grungy distortion of the riff wordlessly embodies the frustration Softcult lays out in the lyrics. “Dress” is a song for everyone who has to look over their shoulder when they walk alone, whose body has once felt like it wasn’t their own. It’s a cathartic spectrum of rage, releasing all of the sadness and exhaustion that comes with the experience.
Tiptoeing into early 2000s pop ballad territory, “One of a Million” is a cheeky diss track, sweetened with hazy shoegaze flair. The lofty tune juxtaposes “Someone2Me,” which drifts back into Softcult’s witchy tendencies with groaning guitars and percussive echoes.
“Love Song” is exactly as it says, an aching love song draped in velvety, lush reverb. It leans into Softcult’s signature dreamscape production palette, and if you haven’t seen the accompanying music video, this is your sign to sit back and have a good cry to it. See You In The Dark finishes with the delicate “Spoiled,” the only track not previously released as a single. Rolling drums course beneath rich vocal layers, washing over listeners in a moment of blissful self-deprecation.
Softcult is a master of ambience, weaving threads of nostalgia in every melody with their cavernous soundscapes. Each track on See You In The Dark elevates the feeling it embodies, letting it soar in the duo’s glorious dreampop domain.
Listen to See You In The Dark below:
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