Tonight at East Room in Chicago, the city's sole 'Baroque Pop' unit known as Soft Candy will unleash their new The Luvers & the H8ers cassette release on Eye Vybe Records for a night of twinkling pop euphoria destined to put stars in your eyes and a tingling in your toes. Fronted by pianist extraordinaire Alex Rowney and existing in and out of activity over the past half decade, Soft Candy are a Chicago band like no other. Supreme musicianship isn't a commonality in this city as the wave of friendly over-complacency toward lesser-quality bands has washed away any riveting criticisms that used to weed out the weaker acts. To say it bluntly, to exist within this realm with such musical mastery isn't something you will come across often. Soft Candy operates in a floating continuum, embracing the often-forgotten reverberations of yore, coalescing into a modern pop sound that hearkens back to 'AM Gold,' with flourishes of 60s psych interwoven with 70s sunshine.
Fluid and glossy production isn't something you hear regularly on a release from a band trudging through the small venue circuit in Chicago. That nuance, coupled with extremely sophisticated pop arrangement is more than enough to elevate Soft Candy to the levels of admiration suffered by other local acts like Whitney and Ne Hi, yet without the push from corporate-backed public relations representatives. And that's why Soft Candy stands out both here on their new EP release, and in a live setting, they're a band that's much more than what they seem, almost countless layers of exploratory sonics, wrapped in an easy-to-swallow swirling & sombre sound.
Don't miss another surreal Soft Candy live show tonight at their cassette release party at East Room, and pick up a copy of The Luvers & the H8ers from the band or direct from Eye Vybe right HERE.
STREAM "Mouring Glory" right HERE:
