Soft Complex

What people are saying about Soft Complex:



"Seconds into the lead track on 'Barcelona ', Chris Connelly reaches for the star-spangled fretwork of Johnny Marr, sending guitar notes hurtling head-over-feet and setting the tone for the rest of the DC band's '80's-minded debut. But the Smiths nod is deeply reverent. Dripping with the post-emo pathos of each member's former band (Alexia Kauffman played with Engine Down, Mike Harbin was in Burning Airlines), Soft Complex re-appropriates gloomy Brit-pop without sounding like post-punk trend jumpers."~Robbie Mackey, CMJ New Music Monthly 144, December 2006.



"For a preview of what may be awaiting retro-pop fans in 2007, try Barcelona (Silverthree), a three-song EP (plus five generally solid remixes) by D.C. alt-dance band Soft Complex. The title track sounds like a lovely lost song from the Aztec Camera/Simple Minds era, mixing jangly, Smiths-style guitars and vocals with low cello and ebullient rhythms, but the real gem is "Sad Note," a breathy ballad strung together with lyrical instrumental passages. It sounds like the whole of '80s radio recombined into a fluidly sentimental symphony…(A-)"~Noel Murray, The Onion A.V. Club, December 2006



"Soft Complex are an assemblage of D.C.'s finest, drawing members from multiple members of the District scene.'Barcelona ' features three original songs, all of them seemingly learned at the velvet-clad knee of Uncle Morrissey. Fleshing out the record, though, are five remixes, and the Smiths vibe is pleasantly interrupted by Dntel-style bleeps and actual rapping.underscoring the fact that they don't simply hail from England on the Potomac. The lyrics go a bit beyond the hopeless romance of lovelorn Mancunians, too, as Soft Complex occupies a world where 'all the scenesters saw you fuck in the parking lot' ('Beat the Chill'). It's mope-rock, yes, but it's mope rock you can dance to."~Jeffrey Parker, Spin.com, October 2006



".a hypnotic new wave-influenced sound that echoes the polished bits of the Smiths, the Cure, and New Order." ~MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide, November 2006



"There are a bunch of bands out there that are trying to recreate the whole new wave sound, and it's nice to hear one that is actually doing it correctly, especially when it is a supergroup of sorts."~Erin Chandler, The Trip Wire, November 2006



"(3 Stars ***).those three songs easily deserve slots on alt-radio playlists, if not Top 40 ones. Dreamy, melodic bands like Soft Complex are scarce these days, but when they do come along, you wonder how we ever tolerated the Fray and Fall Out Boy in the first place." ~Robbie Daw, Frontiers Magazine, November 2006



"Soft Complex probably transcends their influences, though, because they don’t come off as unintentionally campy or silly. The three original cuts here, “Barcelona,” “Sad Note” and “Beat the Chill” all reverberate with ear-grabbing hooks." ~Tony Sclafani, Music Monthly, March 2007