I saw Soft Stories up in Blakes in Berkeley November 1. I talked with bassist Sloan Denton and he, drummer Jeremy Robins and Nic Russo agreed to come on the show. I was impressed by their fresh open sound right off. Like a convertible with the top down on the open road. They sang five of their original songs: “Y”, “Toe Touch”, “Haunt Me,” “Devotion” and “Bronze Coat.”
On the show, when I asked about whether their open sound was intentional, Sloan said it was because they have only three instruments, but it’s not that, guys. Sorry! First of all, Soft Stories may have “only” bass, guitar and drums, but they are used in all manner of ways to create different feels and textures. So it feels like there is more instrumentation there than technically there really is. Plus both Nic and Sloan have unusual voices that catch the ear. Poet’s voices that articulate the lyrics in an organic way. They haven’t cultivated coarse rock star voices, though I suspect they could ratchett it up if they wanted do, but it would completely change their sound.
Nic and Sloan harmonize and blend; they use lovely false setto and they also use their voices as percussion like in Haunt Me. Also we all know that three guys can make a lot of sound, in fact a lot of bands specialize in making as much noise as possible. And these guys make some amazing “concert” sounds like at the end of Devotion by Nic where they jam out the song. But in general Soft Stories selects their sounds to match the poetry. They sculpture the sound and match it wonderfully to the words. Their music is very intentionally stripped down but is not self-conscious which is one of the reason it works.
Another reason their music works is that Jeremy Robins is an extremely capable drummer. He shows great control and restraint as he matches the mood of each song, while providing the driving beat that keeps the “convertible” on the road. The novel ways that Nic and Sloan arrange their instrumentation and their vocals might well challenge a less attuned drummer. Rhythms and moods shift quickly and Jeremy keeps it locked down. And Jeremy manages to squeeze a lot of different sounds out of his kit as well, so he brings fresh sounding grooves into the mix as well.
During Toe Touch I could not help but be reminded of the band Picture Atlantic and Nic Bartunek’s false setto and open voicings. Picture Atlantic’s CD Kleos is packed with classical Greek imagery and Sloan uses it with restraint in Toe Touch with his reference to Lethe, the river of Forgetfulness in Greek mythology. I’m sure it’s a matter of taste, but I admire the mining of deep material in the subconscience, in our shared collective conscience and rolling it out for us that both Picture Atlantic and Soft Stories does. Matching music with poetry and then arranging it carefully for us is what sets a band like Soft Stories apart.
Devotion is a complicated song, perhaps the most thought-provoking of the set. Packed with powerful imagery and a beautiful melody line, the song gives way to an unusual and satisfying breakdown at the end. My favorite line of the night: “There is beauty in Devotion but it doesn’t make it right.” The song poses an important question: how does what we devote ourselves to affect us and others? Who thinks about that? Artist do. And that’s why we need them in our lives.
Soft Stories gives their music away at thesoftstories.blogspot.com
Unfortunately, Myspace has started limiting the length of videos. So only the first twenty minutes of the show is available on myspace. The show can be seen in its entirety at http://keylargomusic.blip.tv.
