This one is an oldie but a damn goodie. The Soft Pack (formerly The Muslims) released their self-titled album earlier this summer and to celebrate, the San Diego-based band performed ten times throughout the city of Los Angeles on a Saturday. I was able to catch one of the sets in Long Beach with Avi Buffalo as their opener. It was definitely a fun show to see as it matched up with their catchy post-punk garage sounds with a hint of surf rock – and when I say surf rock, I don’t completely imply surfers and stoners. The Soft Pack is one of the bands who have firmly based their sound in indie rock without the frills.
Even when they do take on a band whose sound is a bit fancier than theirs, they are able to turn it into an extremely lo-fi but listenable psychedelic tune. For example: Their cover of Phoenix‘s “Fences.” I’m not sure why they called it a remix when it was clearly a cover but thanks to Rollo & Grady for reminding me of this gem. The Soft Pack will be back from tour to play FYF Fest this Labor Day weekend, so take a listen to their cover of “Fences” below and get pumped!
WILD TONIC 