Soft Shoulder

Originally posted on May 26, 2014:

          The 90's gave birth to an era of indie experimentation; grunge.  This combination of heavy rock riffs and bluesy Black Sabbath-esque rhythms was born out of the commercialization of glam rock in the late 80's and became widely popular in the indie scene, then the mainstream.  A main selling point of grunge in the 90's was the fact that the lyrics were 'real' and reflected the musician's personal lives.  Soft Shoulder would've been right at home in the 90's (though they are certainly welcome now), with their deep lyrics and blues-influenced guitar and bass work.

          Soft Shoulder officially emerged from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in mid-2013.  The 2 founding members, Andrew Millett (Vocals/Rhythm Guitar/Bass) and Jason Coker (Lead Guitar), are ex-Marines who first met in 2009.  They went their separate ways until Jason Coker moved to Pittsburgh, at which point Soft Shoulder was born.  They released their debut EP, One : Mongoose, on May 16th of this year.  The 4-track release is a mixture of acoustic and distorted electric tunes.

Soft Shoulder's album "One: Mongoose"

          The second song on One : Mongoose is Days Gone Grey.  The track begins with a heavily distorted guitar riff that pulls the listener in.  The drums come in with a thick beat from Jordan Coffey (Session Drummer/Bassist) and the song really takes off.  Andrew Millett enters the song with his emotion-filled voice.  It's difficult to describe it, but if I had to compare it to other vocalists, I would say it is a fusion between Kurt Cobain (Nirvana), Chris Cornell (Soundgarden), and Ozzy Osbourne (Black Sabbath).  The tone of his voice not only possesses a unique quality, but is also full of expression.  It's when he is singing the chorus line, "Days gone grey", that he uses his full vocal and dynamic range to really express what he is singing about.  After the second verse, Jason Coker runs away with the song while playing an epic, full Tony Iommi-esque (Black Sabbath) solo, backed by heavy cymbals and hard-hitting snare and bass drums.

Who wouldn't want to jam on this guitar?

          The last track on the EP, Shitshow, is a slight departure from the louder, heavier Days Gone Grey, though no less powerful.  The song starts with a steady drumbeat that gives way to light acoustic guitar that strums a fairly simple chord progression with intermittent minor chords throughout the song.  The main aspect of this track, however, is Millett's vocals and lyrics.  In this song, his voice takes on a tone and range more akin to that of Eddie Vedder's (Pearl Jam).  Millett's vocals vary between a more monotone voice and a rhythmic one at certain points throughout the song in order to get the meaning of his lyrics across.  In the middle of the second chorus, the song changes direction and a powerful, distorted guitar chord screams out as Millett's voice rises with it.  The electric guitar follows the rest of the song and we are left with the haunting lyric "Why can't we love?" that is belted out.

          The lyrics on One : Mongoose are a major draw.  Aside from being clever and well-written, they are, above all, real.  Andrew Millett has said "I try to keep the lyrics as honest as possible, people can tell when you're just singing about bullshit to sound cool."  They are derived from personal experiences in the lives of both Andrew Millett and Jason Coker, most predominantly, addiction and alcoholism.  Lyrics like "A junkie convulses and/Struggles for air/He came back this time/But he ain't quite there" (Shitshow) are filled with such emotion and meaning that they will be echoing in your head for days.

          Soft Shoulder is an incredible group of 'real people'.  They're grunge/blues hybrid style is not only engrossing, but also unique.  All of their music comes straight from their souls and shows a side of music that isn't often seen in the current mainstream.  Also, be on the lookout for their first full-length album in the future (recording starts soon).  Until then, you can hear their debut EP (One : Mongoose) at their Bandcamp page (http://softshoulder1.bandcamp.com/album/one-mongoose).  Be sure to check them out on Facebook, too (https://www.facebook.com/SoftShoulderMusic).  I'll leave you with yet another inspirational quote from Andrew Millett: "Music has literally saved our lives, we just want to get music out there to let people know that yea, you have struggles, and nothing is ever easy, but there is hope, that other people have gone through the same or worse, and that you can make it out of whatever hole you're in. Pick yourself up and walk on."

Thank you for visiting my blog and reading this review.  Please feel free to comment on this article about whatever you feel like (suggestions, what you think of the band, etc...).  If you would like to contact me for any reason, check out the 'Contact' tab above.  Have a nice day and rock on!