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‘When a Flower Doesn’t Grow’: Shoegaze legends ‘Softcult’ Release Their Much-Awaited First Proper Album
- Trent Pelletier
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Mercedes and Phoenix Arn-Horn make up Softcult, a band that has been quietly defining
shoegaze and riot grrrl with their many singles and Eps released over the past few years.
With a beautifully inaccurate title (in respect to the band), the Canadian twin duo is in full
bloom and has built a very realized project that isn’t simply a compilation of catchy
shimmer. But full of emotional quiet, roaring passion, ever-changing influences, and a
consistent narrative.
Rather than a consistent dreamy pop-rock stance start to finish, there are moments of this
album that are 100% ambient, in high contrast to a stretch of tracks 4-6 that are very much
in your face.
The pacing is worth mentioning, as the transitions between songs feel very natural. For
example, when ‘Hurt Me’ ends in an ambient soft outro, ‘I Held You Like Glass’ picks up very
lightly and then builds.
There are some stellar highlights hidden within tracks, the guitar ri\ in the bridge to ‘Pill To
Swallow’, the outro of ‘Hurt Me’, and the drums in all of ‘16/25’. While even the most
hardcore fans of the shoegaze genre can probably admit that it can feel a bit “samey” at
times, the journey to not be defined by a single genre is clearly present with ‘When A Flower
Doesn’t Grow’, resulting in a refreshing listen that stands out in good ways. ‘She Said, He
Said’, or even the title track, would not exist as songs if Softcult had not been at least a little
experimental. I wouldn’t dare to say any sound here is incredibly groundbreaking
(especially because many of these attributes are particular to ‘Softcult’themselves and not
necessarily this project); more so, the result of a great stab at a couple of genres that are
often confining to a fault. In many ways, this is a departure for the duo, straying away from
pop-rock as seen in their ‘Zodiac Eps’ and more towards the atmospheric side of
alternative rock. At the same time, you could argue the stretch between tracks 4-6 would
have made a great EP, had Softcult not opted to go for a full-length LP.
Self-described as indulging in a niche genre ‘riotgaze’, (more commonly known as ‘riot
grrrl’) and considering the female experience required to truly relate to what the lyrics
allude to in many Softcult songs, this is an apt description, especially here. While the
music itself is impressive, it wouldn’t necessarily pull me in the same way without its
concise storytelling. One could be forgiven for pulling much riot from past Softcult
projects, the passion and proclamations are there, sure, however, without a central thing to
riot against, they can feel more like the typical punk stance against the horrors of the world.
In ‘When A Flower Doesn’t Grow’, this is not the case. Every track relates back to the
project’s title, asking why this has to be the case for so many young women. As mentioned
previously, the album divulges in many peaks and valleys, sonically and emotionally. While
some snapshots of being a woman in your teens with sexual trauma can look like coping
through anger and humor, others may see you in a desolate place with only grief to show.
Softcult takes us to these places. I like to imagine every track as a di\erent week, month, or
year in this person’s life. All looking at the source of their trauma with equal disdain, put in
di\erent stages of grief and emotional states. That is, until the last track, a beautiful
conclusion which perfectly reintroduces us to the question at hand in more of an outsider’s
perspective.
“When a flower doesn’t grow, do we blame the dying rose or the soil it called home and the
roots yearning for the unknown?”
“When A Flower Doesn’t Grow” is out now, so be sure to give it a listen here:
or experience it on one of the many beautiful vinyl pressings here:
