Portland post-punk five-piece, Soft Kill have shared their lyric video for “Pretty Face”, the second single from their forthcoming new album Dead Kids, R.I.P. City.
“Pretty Face” captivates listeners with a propulsive bassline and upbeat cinematic-like guitar melodies, all the while retaining that trademark shadowy Soft Kill sound.
The song reflects the darker side of what the band has experienced the past few years, taking the opportunity to openly discuss a sociopolitical message that is especially prominent now as Portland has become the epicenter of unrest and resistance to an increasingly fascist federal government these past few months.
Says the band’s Tobias Grave:
“‘Pretty Face’ was written immediately after finding out about the loss of our friend Zachary Delong. It recounts some time we spent together on the edge of oblivion, late 2011 into the first weeks of 2012. Survivors guilt pouring out into song form” – ‘Relax your pretty face boy, the pain has left you.’
“We shot this to be a lyric video but we worked in some scenes, starting in Washington and traveling into the far north section of Portland, stopping by the abandoned dog track at Portland Meadows and ending at the motel made famous by Drugstore Cowboy. The imagery will resonate with some, I’m sure. The song is one we’ve played live for two years and it’s got a big cult following without ever having a studio version circulating.”
Watch the video for “Pretty Face” below:
In 2018 Soft Kill, (Tobias Grave, Conrad Vollmer, Owen Glendower, Daniel Valadez, and Nicole Colbath), released their previous album, Savior, a record that dealt with the traumatic birth of frontman Grave’s son Dominick. The band’s songwriting, as a result, found deeper maturation and emotional intensity. The band has taken this process even deeper with the quartet’s forthcoming new album, Dead Kids, R.I.P. City, which will be released November 20th via Cercle Social Records.
A story odyssey of sorts told in ten songs – each track essentially a character – Dead Kids, produced by David Trumfio (Built To Spill, Wilco) and mastered by the legendary Howie Weinberg (The Cure, Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana), explores the long and complicated relationship with the darkness of Portland through a beguiling mix of personal memory, allegory, and narrative structures. The album is comprised of songs that tell of the legacies of those lost during the city’s last couple of decades, as it moves from soggy backwater to tech-fueled transformation. Is this shift ultimately for the better?
Dead Kids, R.I.P. City is out November 20th on Cercle Social Records/Cobraside.
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