Alot of bands suffer from hype. Early buzz can be great; all the press coverage and attention gives you a leg up, gets you an audience. But bands need to follow up the hype with music that is worth all the early praise. So many bands fall at the first hurdle - disappointing albums and live shows that don't justify the hype and people stop paying attention. The Soft Pack are a band who have been subject to massive hype. They were in 'ones-to-watch' lists in 2008 while they were called The Muslims, and then again when they changed their name. Some early releases (Parasites EP, Extinction EP) showed alot of promise, but fans and critics were waiting for their full length debut before deciding their fate - did they live up to the buzz?
Well The Soft Pack's self titled debut record is finally released for everyone to hear. And it does live up to the hype, or at least the first half does. Tracks like 'C'mon', 'Answer To Yourself' and 'More Or Less' are the exciting indie rock 'n' roll staples that we would expect after those exhilarating early releases. In fact the whole album is a solid garage rock album with basic indie structure but with a modern lo-fi twist. But after about half way into the album, nothing really changes and the formula seems a little tired. The Soft Pack do guitar parts and vocal harmonies just aswell as any Californian garage band from the last 30 years, I was just hoping for a little more, as only shown in the slower, ballad like 'Mexico'. A little more variation over the 10 tracks and The Soft Pack would have had a classic pop-punk debut, which after the hype, I expected. That will teach me a lesson (no it won't).
