The original Ideal Soul Mart is a convenience store on the east side of Austin that sells the usual assortment of alcohol, soda, and snacks – but unfortunately, not a shot at better living, or a fresher start, like the name might imply. The hunger for a more ideal something is what drove multi-instrumentalists Clay Fain and Adam Luikart out from behind the wreckage of previous bands (Crawling With Kings, Friends of Lizzy) and back onto the stage, booking shows before songs were written and working it out in front of the crowd.
With this reckless approach, the pair take the classic elements of the pop they adore, boil them down to their most basic essences of rhythm, melody, and texture, and then reconstruct them in a bare-bones melange: a pounding two-drum beat here, a pulse of electric piano there. Skittering, scraping electric guitars and handclaps. Hushed harmonies and soaring melodies. Dissonance and drone.
As they move forward on the heels of their debut album, Ideal Soul Mart will keep the promise of that name firmly in mind and continue to strive for a sense of perfection and economy in pop music.
