Review: SoftSun ‘Daylight In The Dark’
Regular readers of my writing on the site will know of my love for Yawning Man guitarist, the mesmerising and unique Gary Arce. In addition to his constant work with the band, he has collaborated with a myriad of artists to bring his freeform, experimental and otherworldly sounds to projects such as Yawning Sons (with Kent UK’s Sons of Alpha Centauri), Waterways (with members of Fatso Jetson) and Zun (with Sera Timms and John Garcia) to name a few.
A world away in the cooler climes of Moss, Norway, Superlynx vocalist Pia Isaksen (bass and vocals) has made her name carving out heavyweight slices of doom, but also stretched her creativity with numerous projects, including a solo career releasing two droning doomgaze albums, the second of which, Dissolve, was released earlier this year.
Her Distorted Chants debut would see her work with Arce to provide additional guitar parts on selected tracks that sowed the genesis of a fuller songwriting partnership for one of the low-key coolest releases of 2024 in the eponymous debut album from SoftSun. Thanks to the connecting power of technology, the relationship between Arce and Isaksen flourished, leading to the band’s formation in 2023 following a long-awaited face-to-face meeting.
To complete the puzzle having written material that would form the basis of the album from afar, the pair would call upon the experienced talents of drummer and studio owner Dan Joeright to help finalise and craft the songs into something special.
No stranger to the scene Joeright boasts a musical pedigree of acts like Sasquatch and The Rentals, founded the musical collective Earth Moon Earth, and has worked with the likes of Earthless and Nebula on the technical side of things.
Drawing together these three sonic voyagers, SoftSun offers a strangely alien sound that encapsulates the meditative drift of the wide-open Californian desert sound epitomised by Arce’s guitar playing, the icy detachment of the beautifully bleak Scandinavian wilderness, and languid beats showcasing Joeright’s veteran understanding and understated skills.
Announcing themselves immediately with the rumbling grind of Unholy Waters, SoftSun are heavy and crushing in tone. Isaksen’s bass crackles and fuzzes with powerful resonance, and the deep pounding of Joeright‘s drums don’t drive but accent the pulsing liquid-like feel of the groove which glides effortlessly like mercury over glass.
Among this thick, churning, doom-like sound appears the bright, pinging notes of the guitar. With trademark dexterity, Arce brings his distinct style to what should feel like a gloomy march, changing the expectation of the sound to a floating dreamscape evoking images of the sun high in a crisp, clear sky. One moment stark and white with snow and the next no less isolated but fed by the warmth and yellows of the Mojave Desert.
a hazy harmony that makes SoftSun stand alone in this strange Nordic/Desert wasteland…
When Isaksen’s vocals emerge, they float over the music like a sigh, her stunning delivery echoes with a beautiful and haunting rise and fall that complements the vibrating melodies of the guitar. If you look up the word ethereal in the dictionary by the end of November, it’s definition is simply going to be replaced by a picture of the album cover.
The title track continues at the same slow and heavy pace. The bass is open and hums like a low, steady heartbeat whilst the drums add dramatic flair with cymbal crashes and tight snare work. Arce expertly draws you into the guitar journey with more insistent vibrations and meandering passages of notes that define his one-of-a-kind playing style. Moving through peaks and troughs, the notes squall and echo as the vocals bring a soulful air of detachment that drips with beauty.
Exit Wounds bristles with a darker, moody menace. Over the taught rhythm and cavernous bass, even the ringing of the guitar shimmers with a sinister feeling. The lyrics are intoned with a mournful delivery on the opening line of ‘Silence screaming for ways out’; the breathy, light air is replaced by a stately, almost impersonal dynamic. Slow and more explorative, the weight of the track carries the heaviness of the sombre subject matter as the band ramps up the droning doomgaze to the max.
The fourth track, Continents, seeps into your consciousness. Keeping the same downbeat pace as the preceding number, the majority of the light is provided by the ever-dazzling Arce who evokes the slow, glacial drift of swirling land masses as they move imperceptibly through the passage of time. The dreamlike vocals soar with an emotive narration that builds towards the gravitational hook of ‘re-arrange the continents’ which reverberates over the psychedelic soup after the track has finished.
Taking centre stage, Isaksen’s bass somehow manages to steal the show on Dragged Across The Desert Floor. As the guitar cycles through a series of wandering detours into lavish effects and intricate shoegaze that only Arce can conjure, the greasy low notes flow in an exploratory path that twists and turns, juxtaposing the searching treble. The vocals start as spoken word, slow and deliberate, before opening up into a hazy harmony that makes SoftSun stand alone in this strange Nordic/Desert wasteland.
The longest-running entry on the album, the uplifting march of Soft Sun defines this singular project, closing out the album with a warmth like the sun penetrating through the bleak, snow-covered landscape. The light piano stabs and trilling echoes, framing lines like ‘soft coloured sky’ as the aural mediation draws power and energy from the three members, locking into their cinematic vision as they navigate this landscape.
Nowhere more so on the album do they harness the expanse of their similar yet distant environments, and it is easy to close your eyes and picture people standing in different parts of the world, looking up to the heavens, watching the stars wheel overhead in a shared moment of celestial whispers.
When music speaks to the soul it is hard to look away, SoftSun’s stunning debut taps into that primal search for meaning and divinity in a truly special way.
Label: Ripple Music
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Mark Hunt-Bryden
