Softjaw

Following a clutch collection of digital singles and EP releases last year, Softjaw unleashes their debut proper and its more than makes good on the promises cast in their early works. Self-recorded in Long Beach and given a little sonic scrub-up by Wyatt Blair, the record finds the band dazzled with the ‘70s strain of power pop. The record finds them culling just enough from the glam and punk buckets to make it preen and punch when it needs to, but they’re pop craftsmen at heart. The band keeps things clean-lined and crisp, nodding to the marquee names like Big Star and Cheap Trick, but also waxing through Shoes, 20/20, and at times a later-period Emmitt Rhodes. The band packs a lot of sound for a duo, layering harmonies with the best of ‘em on “Poor Disguise” and “My Broken Heart,” that would make the less looped-in imagine a five piece were behind the tapes.

The group’s certainly not shy about keeping a candle burning for both Ardent and Apple sounds in their works, and they do a good job emulating the era with a kind of dedication that feels lived in. Softjaw burrow into the wallpaper and shag of the past, hopeless romantics knocking out crushed velvet dreamers for bedroom longing. The record slips into the sweet spot where bands were starting to mix mod buttons and with their coats and ties. They clean up good, but there’s a spark of punk charm lurking behind the caramel choruses. There’s been a lot of lingering around the cleaner close of the ‘70s this year, and I’m not mad at it. If you’ve already got shelves packed with copies of The Lemon Twigs, Uni Boys, Mod Lang, and Tom Henry, then its pretty imperative that Love Can’t Kill You joins the mix.

Support the artist. Buy it HERE.