The self-titled debut by Soft Palms is the brainchild of Julia Kugel (The Coathangers, White Woods) and husband/musician/recording engineer Scott Montoya. The album is a feast of rich sounds and simple, comforting melodies threading together scrappy dream pop and ethereal torch songs into a sublime journey towards brighter horizons. Kugel and Montoyas positivity in Soft Palms serves as the creative arm of their ongoing behind-the-scenes work in the Long Beach music community, such as planning Happy Sundays free music festival, running the arts non-profit Studios for Schools, and organizing Long Beach POP local events calendar.
Bio:
My goal was to create something that sounded like a mental hug, a sonic embrace, says Julia Kugel (The Coathangers/White Woods) about the self-titled debut album by Long Beach duo Soft Palms. Everything can feel so wild and out of control, we really wanted to create something you could sink into and use to calm those emotions. To achieve this goal, Kugel and her husband and partner Scott Montoya threaded together sock hop rock n roll, scrappy dream pop, and ethereal torch songs into a sublime journey towards brighter horizons. Though the albums eight songs were written in fits and starts over the course of nearly a decade, Soft Palms ultimately came together over a two-year period as an extension of Kugel and Montoyas broader musical ventures. Together they book the Happy Sundays music festival, run the non-profit Studios for Schools, and organize the events calendar Long Beach POPall in an effort to celebrate, promote, and produce art and music through community and positivity. In the moments when the wife-and-husband team arent elevating and empowering other artists, theyve channeled their passion into Soft Palms.
Album opener Baddy sets the tone for the album by laying down a simple guitar line with a grandiose vocal melody run through Phil Spectors wall-of-sound production. The vibe continues through Rainbow where Kugels lilting voice floats against a backdrop of hypnotic upbeat instrumentation and Montoyas dubbed out studio effects. The album continues to be a feast of rich sounds and simple, comforting melodiesfrom the heavenly country waltz and cosmic slide guitar on Oh Then Then to the gentle fingerpicked guitar and string swells of the closing ballad Not Love. The entire album gives off an aura of intimacy while also creating a broader, pastel colored worlda duality achieved through Montoya's unique and meticulous recording process at the couples home studio the Centre Of Mental Arts (COMA). But more than anything, Soft Palms captures Kugel and Montoyas unflappable positivity and energy and serves as yet another outlet for their ongoing work to make the world a bit brighter.
Baddy, Bone Dry, Not Love, Oh Then Then, Pretty Dancer, Rain & Thunder, Rainbows, Somewhere,
- Genre: Indie & Alternative
- Released: 7/31/20
- Handling Time Note: Please allow an additional 72 business hours for this item's shipment.
- Format Detail: 12" Vinyl [w/ download card]
- Format: Vinyl
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