richard shirk (vox/gtr left). adam j. (vox/gtr right), nick o (drums), paul n.(bass/gtr), shannon h. (vox, bass, tambourine), ean m.(visuals/design).
Influences
go-betweens, R.E.M., velvet underground, smiths, orange juice, wire, elephant six bands, flying nun bands, La's.
Sounds Like
...something analog.
from the portland mercury thurs. june 5:
'In the current age of affordable recording software, Soft Tags keep the spirit of lo-fi alive with four-track opuses that gleam like excavated relics. Richard Shirk's vocals occasionally poke their way out of the murky froth like a Pentacostal howler, while chords are bludgeoned with all the subtlety of a battering ram. Live, acoustic guitars are cranked through amplifiers and the drum setup dispenses with cymbals entirely, for a thumping, simplistic groove that will have your foot stomping the earth and your fist unconsciously crushing your can of beer. The flyer for this show boasts an appearance by 'The Optophonic Carousel Lightshow,' which could be promising and "Free Books!" So expect some visuals and some book-learnin' along with your raw, bare-bones, indier-than-indie folk 'n' roll. NL.'
from eugene weekly...
Getting a press kit from the Portland band Soft Tags is like getting a gift from a really creative boyfriend. Housed in a modest brown box with a Spanish vocabulary sticker on the front (mine said "El Cantarito"), the Tags’ EP and introductory materials were lovingly nestled amidst quirky goodies like a Stash tea bag (orange spice) and a frayed guitar string (either an A or a D). Cute as a button. Oh, and there was a really cute button in there too. After opening something so precious, I really wanted to like these self-declaredly lo-fi, DIY fellows and, luckily, the tracks they sent lived up to their promotional promises ("fuzzed-out acoustic guitars, songs in waltz time, a rejection of chorus-vs-chorus song structure"). There’s a kind of Mazzy Star-ish, Joy-Division-y, recorded-in-a-bathroom sound to the winchester mansion EP that deeply satisfies the indie rock lover in me. And while I have no idea how the low-budget-and-proud recording quality will translate into a live performance, the lyrical quality of their songs combined with the multi-media lightshow they tour with and their general sense of whimsy and style make Soft Tags a pretty appealing prospect for a Saturday night.
from willamette week....
[BEDROOM POP] Richard Shirk's echo-heavy lo-fi pop project the Soft Tags reminds of early Mountain Goats and Robyn Hitchcock B-sides. The Goats because of Shirk's near-monotone, rambling storytelling, and Hitchcock because of the accessible psychedelia that flows throughout the recent limited-edition Winchester Mansion EP. Jangly guitars shoot down empty hallways, and Shirk's voice bounces off the walls in somewhat schizophrenic fashion. Hearing the Soft Tags' reverb-heavy music isn't unlike having a talented but noisy musician living next door—you can only imagine what it would sound like if there wasn't a barrier between you and the music. And it's sorta cool that Shirk never really shows his hand. CASEY JARMAN.
[INDIE] The band's recordings—which were probably made in a basement—are kind of like "Beginning to See the Light" from the Velvet Underground's self-titled album. But Soft Tags aren't quietly playing the same song over and over, waiting for a chance. Once in a while, this shoegazing trio breaks out into a guitar-driven rock song, sounding less like the Smiths and more like the Stone Roses.
libraries, ghosts, movie theaters, and bicycles, etc.
most of the current tags songs began as a series of dreams. other draw from lead singer richard shirk's ability to happen to be near bizarre events - aside from being on a commuter train that was struck by lightning and later having a waking vision of joan of arc (these are within the last six months), he spent a bizarre childhood in the midwest where he lived in a haunted house and had 3 run-ins with what is described in journals of the paranormal as a poltergeist. three years later outside of newton, iowa, he saw a UFO from about a hundred feet away.
all of these things contributed to soft tags being one of the few bands anywhere not singing 'girl i like you' or 'girl you don't like me anymore' songs. but those were getting a bit old hat anyway, weren't they? these songs - which sometimes land between spooky lo-fi folk/psych and the kind of chiming rock song you might hear on college radio circa 1981 - are narrative, strange vignettes that were sometimes beamed straight from the rock satellite ala 'VALIS.'
soft tags operate as a modular collective. a typical show features a core group of about 5 with other shows utilizing up to sixteen. live sets are augmented by analog visuals projected by multimedia group optophonic carousel lightshow and past sonic experiments have involved audience controlled tone generators and tape loops.
soft tags have been self-releasing EPs as they see fit. the 'loteria EP' is currently out of print and the 'winchester mansion EP' - a 5 track EP featuring the singles 'she's got a history of notes' & 'winchester mansion' - is in its second printing and is currently in rotation on indie/college radio in most of the west coast.
tags are currently in the midst of the ongoing 'tags make a good impression tour' which is set to wrap up in the winter with shows scheduled in seattle, portland, eugene, salem, and berkeley. please give us an emai for questions regarding booking, press or radio, etc...
David Kyle and the Invisibles appearing live in downtown Portland on SW Ankeny at Valentines-- an open-ended process toward music that allows everything from a solo performance to full improvised jams, building and blending hypnotic phasing loops with varied acoustic instrumentation. Includes a solo performance on the taisho koto!
Live, acoustic guitars are cranked through amplifiers lovingly nestled amidst the drums, having dispensed with cymbals entirely. The Soft Tags weave a spooky lo-fi folk/psych/rock vibe ala college radio circa 1981 - augmented by analog visuals from slide projectors made in collaboration with multimedia group optophonic carousel lightshow.
Tags - I just wanted to reiterate that your Eugene show was one of the best. Everyone was really on, from the drums, to the bass, guitars, vocals, and light show...Thanks!!
I'm so glad you guys put up Don't Go Back To New England- it made me smile since I'm in the process of trying to escape from New England! I'm posting it to my profile as encouragement to others trying to make the big move. Congrats!
At first I fake liked my friend's band, yknow as we often do, but damn....pretty fucking great shit. How about a coloredno no no no no no./....wait ....coloured vinyl? Rad stuff man. winch mansion is the shit. hey hey what;d you think of that Dexter show? I will only hear good things you say about it. Later man.
Hi Soft Tags! Thank you for playing with us the other night. It was a very enjoyable experience to share the evening with you fine gentlemen and your sweet music.
