FEATURE: Spotlight: Sotfcult — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

Sotfcult

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I have known about Softcult…

PHOTO CREDIT: Pearl Cook

for a little while now. I think that this year is going to be one where they truly capture worldwide attention. Where their music will go to new places. They have tour dates that take them through the U.S. and Australia. The Canadian duo consists of Phoenix and Mercedes Arn-Horn. Before getting to a few interviews from last year with Softcult, here is some biography about an incredible music force channelling Riot Grrrl music for a new generation:

“Softcult is siblings Mercedes (guitar/vocals) and Phoenix (drums/vocals/production) Arn-Horn. The band began dropping single tracks in early 2021, and released their first EP, Year Of The Rat, on April 16, 2021.

Citing Bikini Kill as a major influence, the band takes the ethos of the riot grrrl movement and mixes it with shoegaze, grunge, and dreampop influences. Squarely feminist, the music addresses endemic issues of abuse, assault, harassment, misogyny, and social and gender norms as well as mental health.

The band name is a call for awareness. “We chose Softcult because this band is all about social commentary.”, says Mercedes. “A soft cult could be anything from a church, a government, a family, a band even. It’s anything that you don’t really question where you follow your group of people. We’re all in soft cults in society that we don’t realize we’re a part of, we’re just willing participants because it’s a normalized thing at this point. It can sound a little harsh but it’s also meant to make you question which soft cults are you a part of”.

Softcult’s E.P., See You in the Dark, was released last March. It received a lot of praise. It was no surprise that it was also a time where many sites and publications highlighted them as a group to watch closely. A spectacular duo whose music needs to be sought out. Stereogum spoke to the siblings about their early life and path into music:

“Mercedes and Phoenix Arn-Horn are sitting on the floor of their hotel. The Canada-born twin siblings, who lead the post-punk/dream-pop/shoegaze project Softcult, are in a sleepy state of post-show bliss, having played a date last night the End — a venue on Nashville’s famed “Rock Block.” Today is a day off before heading to Memphis, and then, SXSW. How are they planning to spend the next 12 hours before hopping back on the road?

“First thing’s first: After this, we’ll probably shower,” laughs Mercedes (she/her). “Then definitely get some food and maybe see some more live music.” Speaking to Mercedes and Phoenix, even over a Zoom call with wonky WiFi, it’s clear the duo are currently active in the music industry in a way that suits their needs. No longer attached to a major-label system (the siblings have been playing together in various band formations for a decade), Mercedes and Phoenix (they/them) are not only writing hypnotic melodies steeped in political and social discourse (their third EP See You In The Dark is out Friday) — they’re building an empire.

This isn’t hyperbole. Together, Mercedes and Phoenix oversee nearly every aspect of the business of being Softcult. In addition to creating the band’s artwork, Phoenix runs point on production and engineering. Meanwhile, Mercedes directs and edits their videos. Both create and produce a riot grrrl-inspired fanzine called SCripture and participate in a Discord server where Softcult listeners from around the world can come together. “We made it because we thought it might be a cool thing for people — maybe they don’t live in the same area, they can’t all get out to shows, but they can still connect with each other. It’s another way to foster a community,” Phoenix says about the server.

PHOTO CREDIT: Pearl Cook

“We’re not on it all the time, but we do check on it, make sure everything’s above board, answer questions about the band, how we recorded something, or [made] videos,” Phoenix continues. “The cool thing about it is that the people have made it their own. They can kind of talk about whatever they want. Some talk about recording and producing, pedalboards and guitar tones. Some share personal stories: There’s a channel called ‘Trigger Warning,’ and it’s all them having a place to share what they’re going through and feel safe doing that.”

Growing up together in Ontario, the siblings were homeschooled by parents (their mother is an English teacher) who encouraged them to think independently and pursue their artistic inclinations. “I always feel like there’s two types of homeschoolers,” Mercedes says. “They’re either super religious and want to shelter their children from the world — that was not the case [with us], it was the opposite. I think [our parents] were like, ‘The school system is going to kill your love of literature.’ They just wanted us to experience the school of life. That was a huge gift when we were younger because it did give time to really focus on our music.

“Both [parents] had been teachers in their life at some point,” she adds. “So they were already really good at making sure we knew the things we needed to know, then also giving us space to work on our passions… It’s not a typical band story. I think maybe they thought we were going to be concert pianists or something, but they’re happy that we’re doing something that we love, and they are really supportive with that.”

Launching Softcult in 2020, in the thick of the pandemic and that summer’s Black Lives Matter protests, Mercedes and Phoenix channeled their own frustrations around current events into the music, addressing everything from financial and gender inequality to late-stage capitalism and their experience(s) with the entertainment industry. They soon released a 2021 debut EP, Year Of The Rat, and followed up with last year’s Year Of The Snake EP, which kicked off with a propulsive guitar track wryly titled “BWBB” (“Boys Will Be Boys”).

Their new See You In The Dark EP opens with a My Bloody Valentine-esque “Drain,” which finds the band taking on corporate greed and corrupt politicians that enable capitalist structures for personal gain. The upbeat, chanting “Dress,” meanwhile, addresses sexual assault, feeling unsafe while out with friends, and the lingering trauma when your space has been violated. “See you in the dark/ On thе street, following me/ Watch it flash before my еyes/ All the things that couldn’t happen to me,” they sing over a wash of winding guitars. “It’s a dress, not a yes/ Not a fucking invitation”.

There are a few interviews more that I want to get to before wrapping things up. The Alternative spent some time with Softcult in March. After the Ann-Horn sisters disbanded Courage My Love, they farmed Softcult and mixed Dream-Pop and something harder-edged. I do feel that the next couple of years will see Softcult take to big stages and get headline sets. In a music scene where many women still feel undervalued, they are creating impact and opening doors for women coming through. Definitely a duo to keep your eyes on:

“The EP features songs that were initially meant for their second EP Year of the Snake, released in February of last year. In the past, it wasn’t uncommon for them to go a couple years without releasing music, but Softcult have been prolific as they have continued to be inspired by the new music they’ve been working on. “We don’t like waiting too long in between releases to put something out, so I think there was a little pressure to just keep writing while we still felt inspired and not take a break. I feel like after putting out our first two EPs, we were ready to try some new things and really push ourselves to go out of the box. We wrote and recorded everything in our studio in between touring last year,” Phoenix says of this EP.

Alongside each track they release, they also create minimalistic grainy music videos that are edited and filmed by Mercedes for every single. Phoenix handles the production side of things as well as the engineering and visual artwork for their singles, EPs, and SCripture zines. From the music to the handmade zines, Softcult embodies self-empowerment through creative expression. Their SCripture zines take a closer look at the meaning behind their songs and highlights issues in society they feel compelled to shed light on. Cultivating a community with their fanbase, they also collaborate with their scene by including submissions of art and poetry from others and giving shout outs to organizations and charities that are important to them. Taking on this DIY mentality when it comes to creating their art, they are unmistakably inspired by the artists involved in the ’90s Riot Grrrl movement, and hope to continue passing on similar ethics while empowering anyone listening to them to do the same.

“Even though it’s definitely getting better all the time, the alternative music scene hasn’t always been the most welcoming to women, queer people, people of colour, pretty much anyone that isn’t a typical white guy in a band. It’s also unfortunately been a breeding ground for a lot of mistreatment of women and femme presenting people, especially minors, which obviously isn’t okay. It’s important that we keep paying attention to those problems in the scene, and keep trying to make it a safer place for everyone. The Riot Grrrl movement resonated with us as people that always felt a little on the outside looking in and had a hard time finding our place in the industry. We feel it’s just as important today as it was in the ’90s, and in our own small way we want to carry the torch so to speak,” Phoenix expresses.

Sometimes letting go and starting over allows us to move forward more freely and either reinvent ourselves or realize that growth isn’t exactly linear as we explore different facets of ourselves. In Softcult’s case, it’s a beautiful reclamation of themselves as artists and as women / femme presenting people. With the revival of heavy alternative rock that’s laced with thick fuzzed out tones and ethereal melodies, Softcult are making some of the most relevant and inspirational music out there. Their band name even stems from the idea that any group can be considered a “cult” and provokes listeners to think about what kind of soft cults they may passively be a part of. The best kind of music reflects on the world around us and asks us to question what we’ve known, sometimes serving up disturbing revelations about how we’ve been to each other or to the world. Softcult’s music is not purely self-indulgent as it seeks to reflect their experiences as people and the experience of humanity as a whole and hopefully in doing so inspires us all to move forward with a little more thought than before”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Pearl Cook

Another interview from March, Kerrang!. They discussed their new E.P. that highlights (among other things) climate crisis and toxic masculinity. They are definitely creating this genuine and essential new wave of Riot Grrrl. I know that Softcult are going to keep on releasing astonishing music for many years to come. If you have not heard them and checked them out then make sure you connect with them and listen to the music. They are a phenomenal duo:

“Said lyrics confront the perversity and prevalence of rape culture, especially on nights out that suddenly take a turn when a drink is spiked or someone is groped. In the five years since #MeToo, however, do Softcult think there is progress being made?

“I do think we made a lot of progress, because a lot of people weren’t even aware of how serious this issue is,” reckons Mercedes, becoming more animated the more she says on the subject. “I would bet every woman has experienced some form of harassment, whether they’ve come forward or not.”

Then again, #MeToo hasn’t come without backlash, and neither has Softcult’s own quest to raise awareness. “We get a lot of flak [from] people being like, ‘Oh, this band hates men.' It’s not true. I hate misogyny, I hate sexism, I hate rape culture, but I don’t equate that with being male.” Mercedes has, however, seen more men making an effort to listen to women’s experiences. “Men can be a part of the solution as much as women are. You’d also be surprised how receptive a lot of guys are when they hear that, they’re like, ‘That’s disgusting, I’d never do that, I’m going to be looking out.’”

Elsewhere, the darkly fuzzy mid-EP highlight Someone2me tackles a different angle on how misogyny manifests, but with a more personal slant, speaking of an incel who was harassing and threatening Phoenix and Mercedes online for three years. It scared them at first, but when they thought about it, they began to see through this person and wrote Someone2me as an attempt to cut them down to size.

“There was this turning point when we realised, ‘This person is so fucking sad,’” recalls Mercedes. “They have nothing in their life; their hate is what sustains them. They have so much time on their hands because no-one wants to be around someone like that.”

“Honestly, I think that the reason [incels] hate women who reject them is because they cannot accept the failure within themselves to actually be in a relationship with a woman,” adds Phoenix. “When you put the blame on someone else every time you get rejected, you miss the opportunity to be like, ‘What could I learn from this?’ [They think] it’s all women’s fault.”

Another major issue that see you in the dark takes interest in is climate change, with opening track Drain coldly criticising the billion-dollar corporations whose activities are responsible for the bulk of humanity’s carbon emissions. “As an individual, sometimes the onus is put on you to make a change, but what can I as an individual do to change something that huge conglomerates contribute to?” Phoenix questions. “It feels like you’re screaming into a void.”

“The frustrating part is there’s been a climate emergency since our parents [were growing up]. Because of corporate greed, or maybe because it’s inconvenient, we don’t want to think about it,” adds Mercedes. “Fast forward 40, 50 years, we’re still talking about this shit. It gets scarier the older you get. Touring a van with no a/c in Arizona, you’re like, ‘Okay, I feel it, I can’t bear it one second longer.’ Imagine if your whole existence was like that!”

The alt. music world’s dialogue on climate change and how to respond to it is picking up in volume, with bands like Gojira, Architects and Enter Shikari acting as some of our scene's most vocal advocates. Never ones for empty words, Softcult are playing their part. They’re more than happy to pay a little extra for merch made from organic, recycled fabric; they don’t eat meat; they enthuse over the fact that UK venues are good at offering hospitality, so they don’t have to rely on takeouts and consume more single-use plastic.

Crucially, however, they know that saving the planet is too weighty a task to rest on just their shoulders. “Travel is the big one,” Mercedes asserts. “That’s on the corporations – they need to make it more efficient and greener. A band can’t be like, ‘We’re never going to fly anywhere.’ It’s on the companies to care about making it a greener ride or flight.”

The rest of see you in the dark muses upon more intimate subjects. The achingly delicate One Of A Million offers an antidote to the world’s division by suggesting that humans are more similar than different, while the EP’s final two tracks turn inward. The woozy Love Song delves into the simmering anxiety that accompanies falling in love, while Spoiled asks the critical voice in our heads why it’s allowed to speak freely, when we wouldn’t dream of treating anybody else with the same lack of compassion.

There’s a diverse array of subject matter on show, but the personal and political sides of Softcult are more closely intertwined than might appear. After all, the political, very often, is personal. As a species we’re drawn to fight against the injustices we’ve personally experienced, or witnessed others we know suffer against.

“Pointing the finger doesn’t do anything. To be able to relate to a message, you have to be able to see yourself in it,” Mercedes reasons. “If you don’t get personal with it, it’s in one ear, out the other, or you feel completely closed off from it.”

After all, when people change, society changes. “In order for the world to change, there has to be some change within yourself. Blaming everyone else for problems doesn’t solve anything,” says Phoenix”.

I am going to end with a new interview with Softcult. Messed Up Magazine published a really deep and extensive interview with the duo. I have selected a couple of sections that are of particular note. It is clear that there is this incredible fascination around a magnificent duo. They are such an important act. That is why I think their music should be played more widely. They have a fanbase in the U.K., though I think there are more stations that should include their music. Make sure that you follow them:

“We have a responsibility to the planet.

Among the many issues that threaten not just artists and young people, but those all over the globe – even the ones who deny it – climate change is a top contender for the most likely to end us all. Despite the axe ever balanced precariously above our heads, we have so many everyday worries to contend with first.

So, who is going to do anything about it?

Talking about your song Drain and climate change, I heard you say something that I don’t often hear from other artists, which is that a lot of these burdens of activism and widespread change isn’t really the individual’s responsibility, it’s instead on corporations to make these changes. I’ve certainly felt bad about not doing enough. That being said, what do you think artists can do to help? And do you think people generally do enough?

Mercedes: From my perspective, a big thing artists do have control over is their merchandise. Realistically, touring is not an eco-friendly thing – flying or driving every single day. But, those are the things we aren’t necessarily in control of, until companies make those methods of travel more sustainable. But, as artists who sell merch and put merch into production, you do have choices on whether it’s going to be ethically made – recycled fabric, sustainable, plastic or paper for your CDs. Those are things you do have within your control.

You may be seeing it on a micro level – “but it costs more to do it sustainably.” How can you criticise big corporations when you yourself aren’t ready to make that commitment, that small sacrifice?

So, we always try to print our merch on fabric that’s organic, so it’s got less of a bio footprint, and we generally do a paper sleeve for CDs instead of the dual cases which are the cheapest option. And it might not be the fanciest, but the merch definitely feels nicer, even if you don’t care about environmental stuff. It’s got that vintage feel.

PHOTO CREDIT: Courtney Turner

Phoenix: Yeah, so if you’re a vintage bro … (laughs)

Mercedes: I think that’s the biggest thing I can see artists standing up and doing. A lot of the time, even big touring artists will charge so much for their merch, and it’ll be printed on the shittiest, scratchiest fabric, and it’s not good for the environment. People wear it a couple of times and then, because it’s uncomfortable, they throw it out.

The future is mellow

Softcult’s outspoken songwriting takes a backseat for their latest release. Haunt You Still isn’t a detour from the band’s usual spooky sounds, but it does bring a slightly different, more mellow feeling to their seesaw of grunge and shoegaze.

“Do I haunt you still, in your memories? Do I reappear in your bad dreams? When you think of me, is it fondly? Or do I haunt you still?

Let’s talk about Haunt You Still. Lyrically, as more of a love song, I can draw parallels to those of your older songs. Can you talk about how it connects to what you’re doing now and what it’s about?

Mercedes: Sometimes, we’ll sit down and write songs, and there’s an issue that’s at the forefront of our minds and we really want to write a song about it. And then other times, these lyrics will just come out, and it’s not clear what the song is going to be about until we’re halfway through it. Haunt You Still was one of those, for me. I think I had some stuff on my mind, thinking about relationships, and not just romantic ones but friendships, too. And when they end, and the impact they leave … and maybe thinking about regrets you’ve had from how you handled situations. Like, “I wonder if, now, when this person thinks of me, do they think about the good times? Or is their first gut reaction a painful one.

I guess, that is what the song is about. But it’s also … I get really sick of these breakup songs demonising the other person, and I feel like there’s enough of that already. When it’s justified, it’s justified, but sometimes we can get in this mindset of having to suddenly be like, “Oh, my ex is crazy!” It’s not always like that – sometimes things just don’t work out, and it is what it is

Phoenix: And that’s okay.

Mercedes: We’ve written a lot of songs that are from a very specific point of view, so it’s nice to write something where, instead of us explaining it to people, they can see themselves in it. We always project meaning onto things, but I think it’s a mirror of what we’re going through in our own lives.

Phoenix: It’s a little more introspective as opposed to putting out a statement.

Mercedes: At least for me, and probably for you, too, as we get older, things that are so intense when you’re younger soften a bit. You think about them a bit more, and maybe you’re seeing the other person’s side a little more, and it’s not always so black and white. It’s a little more of a ‘real’ breakup song, in that sense.

I suppose we have however many centuries of literature exploring romance, and people trying to figure it out. I suppose it’s nice to hear a more balanced take.

Mercedes: And sometimes, those are the most painful breakups, because you can’t really understand why it didn’t work out. And you don’t hate this person. It can be like a defense mechanism, sometimes. At least for me, it’s so much easier to be angry than to be sad. I’d rather be filled with this righteous rage that empowers me than be … broken.

The fabulous Softcult have a busy 2024 ahead I am sure. In addition to tour dates, there will be new music and further developments. They will acquire new fans and, let’s hope, get closer to be a headline act at major festivals. The song, Heaven, was released in December. Another terrific cut from Softcult. They are an amazing duo that…