The debut from Dublin three-piece Soft On Crime was “rehearsed in a damp basement, recorded in a converted swimming pool, continued in the band members’ homes, and finished in a clandestine fifteen-minute visit to the music department of a nearby college.” Although we all are suckers for underdogs, you hardly need this backstory of headwinds, set-backs, and duct tape solutions to appreciate New Suite. What an extraordinary collection of songs!
Soft On Crime namedrops Soft Boys, Feelies, Vic Godard, Hüsker Dü as influences in the press release for New Suite, and on their early singles they also reference Superchunk, Pavement, Jawbreaker and even Marked Men. The good taste of the band translates to their music, which is at times jangly powerpop, at other time psych pop, indie rock, mod, and new wave. Never too polished, always melodic, Soft On Crime keeps you on your toes, constantly curious about what comes next. There are a lot of great ideas, and interesting musical parts on New Suite and their execution matches that ambition. Who dares to say that being Soft On Crime is ineffective is very wrong indeed.
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