Soft Speaker narrows focus on latest EP
Stranger in the Alps less chaotic than debut album
Soft Speaker
Stranger In The Alps
Released on Feb 23, 2010
One of the things I love about relatively new bands is the opportunity to hear the growth of their sound as it’s actually happening, rather than discovering a band when they’re already popular and backtracking to chart the course of their style.
Conditions was a promising debut, but the band seemed to be trying their hand at too many styles with only moderate success at each. On Stranger in the Alps, it’s obvious that they’ve started to polish and tailor their sound. Instead of playing tracks with feedback, drawling vocals, guitar solos, and driving beats that all fight for the listener’s attention, this EP features songs that strongly showcase one or two of those elements while letting the other parts take a backseat. For some bands, that would be a recipe for mediocrity, but Soft Speaker shows that they’re talented enough to make it work.
“Tennyson Tea” serves as the opening track, and it focuses more on the alternately drawling and impassioned vocals and rollicking guitar parts. Upon first listen, it’s palatable enough, but with every following listen, the song becomes slightly more interesting and complex. The rollicking-ness (you heard that word here first) allows for a quick transition into the best-titled song on the EP, “I Stand To Lose My Fortune, Easy.” It’s slightly lamentable tone doesn’t make it boring; rather, it provides a fitting backdrop for a primarily vocal song. The song isn’t necessarily laid-back, but save for a few guitar solos, vocals take center stage here.
Unfortunately, the song that follows is a bit of a yawn. “Into the Fog” sounds just like it’s written—almost as if the band is falling asleep with their guitars still plugged in. The ending instrumental riffs save the song from falling into obscurity, but 30 seconds can’t completely redeem anything.
Thankfully, they wake up for the best track on the album, “Marble Mask.” The percussive introduction can’t be beat, and it provides the track with most of its energy. With nearly a capella vocals and a slower pace for the ending, this song offers a full picture of the band and where they stand now.
If Soft Speaker can teach us anything, it’s that it’s great to hear a debut that is unafraid to dabble in different styles, but it’s even better to hear a follow-up that shows a higher level of precision and focus. The growth shown from Conditions to Stranger in the Alps is promising, so here’s hoping that they can keep the momentum going.
High Point
The intro for “Marble Mask.” Their drummer has great energy, and it’s on full display for this track.
Low Point
Ugh, “Into the Fog.” Do yourself a favor and just skip to the end of the track.
Posted by Alyssa Vincent on Feb 25, 2010 @ 6:30 am
