The Soft Pack - Strapped [CD] (ONLINE ORDER ONLY)

The Soft Pack are back with Strappedan adventurous album that finds the Los Angeles-based foursome breaking with expectations and exploring the possibilities of how they can push their sound. In making it, the group took to heart a quote from the sage Pasadena thinker David Lee Roth that goes something like: The first rule of rock & roll is if it sounds good, it is good.

The Soft Packs history begins in 2007 when Matt Lamkin (guitar/lead vocals) and Matty McLoughlin (lead guitar) started a band in their native San Diego. They played house parties, dive bars, and anywhere that would have them. By the following year theyd added David Lantzman (bass) and Brian Hill (drums). The four of them soon moved up to L.A., put out some records, went on a bunch of tours, and coalesced into The Soft Pack. (As for the meaning behind their name, type it into your favorite search engine along with the words transgender and FTM&make sure you have the SafeSearch option off.)

Following the two and a half straight years of touring that came both before and after 2010s self-titled release on Kemado Records, the band were burnt out but determined to take control of their future. They decided to self-produce their follow-up, which will be released by Kemados sister label Mexican Summer. During the previous sessions for their self-titled album with producer Eli Janney, they developed 12 songs and recorded all of them10 of them made it to the album, the other two became B-sides. In contrast, while making Strapped they created 80 demo ideas, recorded 30 full songs, and then picked their 12 favorite ones for the album, no matter how far out they were.

The group also took their time while making Strapped, making it over the course of two years. This pace allowed them to integrate new ideas and approaches into their existing sound, not just outright cop them. The Soft Packs pop rock foundations are undeniably still presentnine of the songs dont break three minutes and from the first seconds of glorious album opener Saratoga its obvious they havent abandoned the fuzz. That said, theyve also spent a lot of time listening to Denim, Momus, The Church, YAZ, Grace Jones, INXS, Carole King, Lee Hazelwood, The Byrds, and Elton John. Bobby Brown is an icy new wave number, whose saxophone solo is just one of several horn appearances on Strapped. For Head on Ice, they layer on the dark atmospherics and capture a spiraling sense of doom. Maybe the most surprising cut on Strapped is album ender Captain Ace, a jubilant space cruiser that jams out to nearly the seven-minute mark. Enjoy the ride.

• Format: CD
• Genre: Rock