poppedmusic

Soft

Released 16th February 2015

Words: Gary Feeney

Hailing from Maine, USA, Luke Rathborne relocated to New York City as a result of record company interest following his self-released, self-produced debut album After Dark (Rathborne claims he sneaked in to the recording studio of his local college at night to make the album and taught himself the ropes of production and engineering) and on Soft, his first major album release with a new band in tow, the influences of his adopted home-town are obvious.

Rathborne spent much of the latter part of that year touring with Travis and Strokes guitarists Albert Hammond Jr after the 2013 US release of Soft and only now, two years later, finds himself ready to take on the UK market.

Opening track Soft is a brooding, bluesy number which gives way to a stream of frenetic stream of sharp, punk-infused songs which would be right at home on any indie dance-floor, with highlights including I’m So Tired and Eno, although in truth, almost the entire first half of Soft feels worthy of release as a single.

Things slow down a little at the half-way point with the excellent Little Moment, a delightful 60’s-tinged offering which calls to mind the Byrds with its delicate acoustic guitar lines and beautifully harmonised choruses, but the pace is immediately upped again with lead single Last Forgiven, a toe-tappingly catchy number featuring perhaps the album’s most memorable chorus.

If there is one track on Soft which falls slightly below par it is Deal, but any suggestion that the album is running out of steam is blown away as the closing two tracks which provide a high-energy sprint for the finishing line. The first of the closing doublet is Why, a return to the Strokes-esque rush of the first half of the album, whilst closing track So Long NYC is perhaps Soft’s most mature moment. Telling the tale of Rathborne’s move to the city that gives the song its title, it is arguably the strongest track on the album and perfectly encapsulates the singer’s knack for a melody.

Packed from start to finish with instantly catchy could-be-singles, Soft is a collection of timelessly melodic songs, the kind of album that could be released in any decade and still sound fresh. The last time Rathborne brought his band to the UK, they had to borrow equipment a performance in a pub in London. A few years older and wiser and with an album of this quality under their belt, one would expect that they will have no such troubles once Soft hits the shelves.

Watch the video for Last Forgiven here: