THE SOFT PACK
The Soup Kitchen, Manchester | January 25th
A mismatched bunch of grown men playing an assortment of staple ‘rock’ instruments, jiving their every limb along to three-minute pop songs for the entirety of a feature length set. Such a description may seem typical of every California indie band post-The Strokes, but to suggest that The Soft Pack deserve such categorised anonymity would be an injustice, given how polished this Manchester showing was.
The stereotypically rainy weather, along with the cavernous, underground setting provided by the Soup Kitchen, would have surely made the San Diego quartet feel a long way from home, but this did little to disturb what was a thoroughly-rehearsed set.
Their energetic performance was perfectly executed, with bed-headed singer Matt Lamkin adamantly refusing to keep his feet still at any point of the evening. Highlights included Saratoga, the debut single of the band’s second album, Strapped – a song which epitomises the band’s mantra of uncomplicated pop structures, big hooks and laid-back vocal slurs. The set climaxed, though, with Captain Ace, a song much less conventional of The Soft Pack’s simple style, a 7-minute sprawl of improvised, instrumental jams that really put the spotlight on the band’s wildcard saxophonist. Though visibly disappointed by an early curfew, the band could be assured that they served their audience well on the night.
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Words: James Balmont
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