Shane German - Vocals
Chris Connelly - Guitar, Keys
Rich Dejong - Drums
Mike Harbin - Bass, Keys
Influences
Shane: Moloko, Kate Bush, The Smiths, Peter Gabriel, Joni Mitchell, Throwing Muses, Marianne Faithfull, Blondie, Nina Simone, Cocteau Twins, Grace Jones, Sinead O'Connor.
Chris: Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, Massive Attack, U2, Nine Inch Nails, Denali, Brian Eno, Moloko, Faithless, Thievery Corporation, Secret Machines.
Rich: Yes, Led Zeppelin, Massive Attack, Thievery Corporation, Faithless, Fishbone, Galactic, Roxy Music, Groove Armada, The Verve, Nine Inch Nails, Talk Talk.
Mike: New Order, BowWowWow, Moloko, Fun Boy Three, Heaven 17, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, ABC, Roxy Music, Joy Divison, The Stranglers, Echo and the Bunnymen, Teardrop Explodes, XTC, Yaz, Magazine, The Clash, Nina Simone, The Jam, Spektrum.
Sounds Like
Soft Complex has been honored to play with: Cold War Kids, stellastarr*, The Sounds, VHS or Beta, Ratatat, Glasvegas, Radio 4, Moving Units, Junior Senior, Bob Mould, Denali, Kill Hannah, Bishop Allen, Jaga Jazzist, Dirty on Purpose, Edie Sedgwick, Washington Social Club, Dust Galaxy, Channels, Georgie James, Middle Distance Runner, Cedars, the Hard Tomorrows, and more.
"Barcelona," the debut EP from Soft Complex, is in stores now!
It is available in stores nationwide and on iTunes.
* * *
What people are saying about Soft Complex:
"Seconds into the lead track on Barcelona+, Chris Connelly reaches for the star-spangled fretwork of Johnny Marr, sending guitar notes hurtling head-over-feet and setting the tone for the rest of the DC band's '80's-minded debut. But the Smiths nod is deeply reverent. Dripping with the post-emo pathos of each member's former band (Alexia Kauffman played with Engine Down, Mike Harbin was in Burning
Airlines), Soft Complex re-appropriates gloomy Brit-pop without sounding like post-punk trend jumpers."
"For a preview of what may be awaiting retro-pop fans in 2007, try Barcelona (Silverthree), a three-song EP (plus five generally solid remixes) by D.C. alt-dance band Soft Complex. The title track sounds like a lovely lost song from the Aztec Camera/Simple Minds era, mixing jangly, Smiths-style guitars and vocals with low cello and ebullient rhythms, but the real gem is "Sad Note," a breathy ballad strung together with lyrical instrumental passages. It sounds like the whole of '80s radio recombined into a fluidly sentimental symphony…(A-)"
"Soft Complex are an assemblage of D.C.'s finest, drawing members from multiple members of the District scene...'Barcelona+' features three original songs, all of them seemingly learned at the velvet-clad knee of Uncle Morrissey. Fleshing out the record, though, are five remixes, and the Smiths vibe is pleasantly interrupted by Dntel-style bleeps and actual rapping...underscoring the fact that they don't simply hail from England on the Potomac. The lyrics go a bit beyond the hopeless romance of lovelorn Mancunians, too, as Soft Complex occupies a world where 'all the scenesters saw you fuck in the parking lot' ('Beat the Chill'). It's mope-rock, yes, but it's mope rock you can dance to."
"There are a bunch of bands out there that are trying to recreate the whole new wave sound, and it's nice to hear one that is actually doing it correctly, especially when it is a supergroup of sorts."
"(3 Stars ***)...those three songs easily deserve slots on alt-radio playlists, if not Top 40 ones. Dreamy, melodic bands like Soft Complex are scarce these days, but when they do come along, you wonder how we ever tolerated the Fray and Fall Out Boy in the first place."
"Soft Complex probably transcends their influences, though, because they don’t come off as unintentionally campy or silly. The three original cuts here, “Barcelona,” “Sad Note” and “Beat the Chill” all reverberate with ear-grabbing hooks."
Main entry: soft
Pronunciation: 'soft
Function: adjective 1a: pleasing or agreeable to the senses: bringing ease, comfort, or quiet (the soft influences of home) b: not bright or glaring: SUBDUED c: quiet in pitch or volume d: of the eyes: having a liquid or gentle appearance e: moving or falling with slight force or impact: not violent (soft breezes)
Main entry: com-plex
Pronunciation: 'kam-"pleks
Function: noun 1: a whole made up of a complicated or interrelated parts (the military-industrial complex) 2a: a group of culture traits relating to a single activity or culture unit b(1): a group of repressed desires and memories that exerts a dominating influence upon the personality (2): an exaggerated reaction to a subject or situation c: a group of obviously related units of which the degree and nature of the relationship is imperfectly known.
Soft Complex is:
Shane German (formerly of Trixie Delicious)
Chris Connelly
Rich Dejong (formerly of Phaser)
Mike Harbin (formerly of Burning Airlines)
finally released my EP on Itunes. I put a few of the tracks on my player and a link to go download them. I'd love to know what you think about it. Let me know
(not that) New video (finally) out (4 months after the final cut). This time I bring you a full animated music video experiment, with a soundtrack by my shanghainese friends, IGO. Enjoy!
![Man and Machines[Working on new material]](http://c4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/4/s_bfdec1da3c374f319672ad127920ecbb.jpg)
