"I'm not cryin' not here to pin these things on you"
We reported on Soft Black's first peek of their resurrection entitled "Heaven" (which you can find here: Soft Black returns after 10 years with an exuberant brooding punching affair in "Heaven") but today we are so pleased to bring you the Premiere of Soft Black's Official Video for "Midas Tongue" shot in beautifully stark dark black and white tones as directed by Bill Dvorak and Devan Davies-Wood.
Midas Tongue sets it's dark stage with a moody tom tom beat and trancy electric guitar chords floating in space. Vincent Cacchione's vox stir thing up as heavy distorted bass lines eclipse the dark mood with a powerful surge of tension and distress.
"When I was a little boy they told me I was dumb... they tied my hand's behind my back and they made me run... but I'm not cryin' not here to pin these things on you.... not cryin'- are you? are you? are you?"
Cacchione's vocal aesthetic is many things, there is true tenderness in his wails and he pushes his sustains on the precipice. You also feel an artful darkly written sense of drama. Not made up drama but the inherent drama of life itself in all it's tough days of getting beaten up and all it's glorious victories, however small. You feel all this because there are glimmers of hope and formidable grit in his vocal sadness. A Farfisa organ pierces this dark veil in between heavy musical breaks, downbeats that are building more edges and an almost gospel like relief, “you’re a liar, you’ve got a Midas tongue,” punctuated by a Space Echo feeding back as we watch the king’s head roll, as we feel a heavy post punk jaggedness with 70's garden rock stabs wall around the whole affair.
Soft Black is an NYC collective surrounding the voice and artistic imaginings of Vincent Cacchione (Caged Animals) who was deeply entrenched in Brooklyn's DIY warehouse scene / the East Village's anti-folk scene for a potent 4 year period that eventually spawned 2009's "The Earth Is Black" album. Rolling Stone described the Cacchione / Soft Black asthetic as a “bizarro world Neil Young living in an Edward Gorey cartoon" which feels like a Modest Mouse-ian description to me.
Soft Black return after a 10 year hiatus, absence, disappearance with the highly anticipated: "The Witching Hour" (dropping September 25th, 2020). Produced live in the studio by the band and Daniel Schlett, The Witching Hour boasts playing from members of DIIV, Beach Fossils, Air Waves, Friends, and Lost Boy?
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
spotify
https://softblack.bandcamp.com/
Soft Black is a collective of musicians led by the voice and songs of Vincent Cacchione. Described by Rolling Stone as a “bizarro world Neil Young living in an Edward Gorey cartoon,” the band’s cast of collaborators have included members of DIIV, Beach Fossils, Air Waves, Friends, and Lost Boy?
After a lengthy absence, Soft Black are back with a dark-hued protest song aimed at an authority figure who turns lies into gold.
Midas Tongue spins its tale with visceral, Mapplethorpe style images over a musical milieu that calls to mind both post-punk and folk-rock. The lyric’s gritty visualizations and simmering rage are matched by tribal tom-tom’s, fuzz bass, and sinister Farfisa. Tension builds and releases with the finest whammy bar guitar work this side of the Creation Records catalog.
During Soft Black’s absence Cacchione released several records with his bedroom-dwelling, pop project Caged Animals on the UK’s Lucky Number Music and has become an esteemed collaborator in the fiction podcasting world, working with John Cameron Mitchell on his ground-breaking Anthem podcast, as well as shows by Julian Koster of Neutral Milk Hotel and John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats.
Cacchione also produced the debut album Stubborn Heart by infamous author and John Cale collaborator, Larry “Ratso” Sloman, an opportunity which gave Cacchione the chance to work with Nick Cave and receive seals of approval from Leonard Cohen, Cale, Bob Dylan, and Hal Willner.
With these disparate creative experiences at his wings, Cacchione and company embark on the next, exciting chapter of Soft Black.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider donating to AP as we are in need of support to keep our coverage of Indie Artists like this one alive: click here > https://gf.me/u/yp5ich
No comments:
Post a Comment