Here's something you might be interested in.
The Soft Pack return to play San Diego after a year or two in Los Angeles with a Friday, June 28 show at The Irenic (3090 Polk Ave. – North Park).
Their second album, Strapped, dropped last September (stream it at Spin) and was greeted with lackluster reviews from Pitchfork and Paste along with a clean dissection at Pop Matters and a few hopeful nods from Consequence of Sound.
To the band’s credit, the bulk of critical gripe boils down to - in so many words - the sentiment that The Soft Pack had set the bar so high with their debut album that even they were having trouble pushing it.
While Strapped does lull between numbers, the album’s high notes ring of an undeniable trajectory toward something playful ("experimental," while probably true, doesn't capture it) and genuine.
See for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL9zi5yO00k&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Dre5ksb7QM&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPjK_TNaac8&feature=player_embedded
Even better is this mock-interview with an e-cig-smoking Bob Odenkirk, in which the quartet bed-sits “for peace” and, after a handful of righteous jibes (including likening the LP’s sleeve to “Liberace’s boxer shorts”), is rated by fictitious flub-critic Hal Clapp on a criterion of effort, musicality, and comportment.
They score an enigmatic 10.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzTG6AECi1E
The Soft Pack with Heavy Hawaii at The Irenic – Friday, June 28 – Tickets.
The Soft Pack return to play San Diego after a year or two in Los Angeles with a Friday, June 28 show at The Irenic (3090 Polk Ave. – North Park).
Their second album, Strapped, dropped last September (stream it at Spin) and was greeted with lackluster reviews from Pitchfork and Paste along with a clean dissection at Pop Matters and a few hopeful nods from Consequence of Sound.
To the band’s credit, the bulk of critical gripe boils down to - in so many words - the sentiment that The Soft Pack had set the bar so high with their debut album that even they were having trouble pushing it.
While Strapped does lull between numbers, the album’s high notes ring of an undeniable trajectory toward something playful ("experimental," while probably true, doesn't capture it) and genuine.
See for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL9zi5yO00k&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Dre5ksb7QM&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPjK_TNaac8&feature=player_embedded
Even better is this mock-interview with an e-cig-smoking Bob Odenkirk, in which the quartet bed-sits “for peace” and, after a handful of righteous jibes (including likening the LP’s sleeve to “Liberace’s boxer shorts”), is rated by fictitious flub-critic Hal Clapp on a criterion of effort, musicality, and comportment.
They score an enigmatic 10.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzTG6AECi1E
The Soft Pack with Heavy Hawaii at The Irenic – Friday, June 28 – Tickets.