Album: The Soft Pack
Year: 2010
. . .
Before they changed their name for this album, San Diego’s The Soft Pack called themselves “The Muslims,” the kind of cheeky thing you do when you’re a young snotty punk band and you’re sure no one is ever going to hear your music. So when they started getting some buzz after a self-titled EP they changed their name for all the reasons you cringed when you read “The Muslims.”
Which has absolutely nothing to do with today’s song in any way, shape or form; the ferocious “Down on Loving,” another highlight from their self-titled debut as The Soft Pack.
Starting off with a high, ringing lead from guitarist Matty McLoughlin over an appropriately fast and tom-driven beat, “Down on Loving” then slams into its first verse, in which Matt Lamkin rattles off lyrics about how sad he happens to be.
I see the sun in the sky, looks so good
But my mind’s getting dark like a young man’s would
I see the birds flying, see them soar through the air
But all I got this feeling that my heart of despair
All of this sets up the call-and-response chorus with bassist David Lantzman providing the response.
‘Cause I’m down on loving (down on loving)
Yeah, I’m down on loving (down on loving)
Oh, I’m down on loving, and I see that loving all around
After the second chorus, there’s a quick bridge where Lamkin and Lantzman harmonize on “downnnnnnnnnnnnnn” while drummer doubles his snare beat, which leads directly into a McLoughlin guitar solo that is equal parts Buzzcocks, Feelies and surf music: a proper punk rock guitar solo by any stretch of the imagination. After that, they’re off to the races: speeding through another verse and chorus and Lamkin muttering how he’s “down on loving” a few more times, like he’s maybe worried that you might not think he really is.
Naturally, all of this happens in just a little over two minutes, but sticks in your head for the rest of the day, and is one of the reasons that I still recommend The Soft Pack to anybody who heard and liked this song.
There was a follow-up record, 2012’s Strapped, which — not surprisingly, because this is how these things have worked since the beginning of time — incorporated keyboards and horns to mixed results, though opening track “Saratoga” has a helluva ringing guitar hook. After that, I guess they broke up.
“Down on Loving”
“Down on Loving” Live Acoustic on the Beach, 2009
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