It’s been five years in the making, but Softcult’s debut album is finally here, here, here! As packed full of gorgeous, effervescent sonics and crushingly honest and unguarded lyrics as we’ve come to expect, ‘When A Flower Doesn’t Grow’ is the result of the Canadian siblings – Phoenix and Mercedes Arn-Horn – getting to live life as a band for a few years.
Having started during the pandemic, this allowed the sisters time to establish exactly the kind of band they wanted to be. “We really wanted to find our sound and have the opportunity to experiment,” Mercedes opens. They began writing and recording at home before releasing their debut single, ‘Another Bish’, in 2021. Entrenched in a shoegaze waterfall, with grunge undertones and, as Phoenix puts it, “a punk ethos”, Softcult is a marriage of the sisters’ influences and intentions. “Since the beginning, we’ve been DIY; that is something we’re proud of and something that we want to keep going,” they add. “I think as long as we’re doing that, and it’s my sister and I creating the artwork and recording and trying to keep that DIY essence, it will always be us.”
“It’s not the same world we were in when the project began”
‘When A Flower Doesn’t Grow’ is as ambitious and as earnest as you’d imagine. Taking the ideas they introduced on their first EPs and delving even deeper, the atmospheric ‘Intro’ into the luscious sounds of ‘Pill To Swallow’; the inevitable anger that radiates in pulses from ’16/25′ through to the softer, acoustic titular closer, this is a debut that’s the result of timing. “Translating that focus from writing and recording every day in our home studio and conceptualising the project versus being in the real world, going on tour, having the chance to perform these songs live in front of an audience, it’s been really validating,” Mercedes says, “because until we did that, it almost didn’t feel real.” For the pair during this time, music was an important part of dealing with reality, much like their pandemic start: “A lot was going on in the world at that time, but I found making music during that time was an escape.”
Indeed, music has remained a way of navigating the world for the pair. “I often feel like it’s my way of processing the good and the bad things that are going on in my life,” Mercedes says. Comparing it to therapy and the associated journaling, “I feel like that’s what we do when we write lyrics. Even to this day; it’s not the same world we were in when the project began. It’s been a way for both of us to lose ourselves. I think if you ask any artist that question, they would probably say the same thing.”
For Phoenix, it’s the same. “Anytime I’ve been going through a rough time in life, or if things are changing for me, music’s always been the constant for me,” they say. “I know it’s there no matter what’s going on with me, and I think that is comforting.”
“Music’s always been the constant”
It’s this element that makes Softcult such an alluring prospect for fans. They’re earnest and open, unflinchingly so. It’s an idea the pair are keenly aware of. “Whether you’re the one creating art, or whether you’re the one that’s seeing the art, listening to the art, consuming the art in some way, that is your form of escape and processing and maybe even seeing the world differently,” Mercedes says. This is why they take their role as artists so seriously. For Mercedes and Phoenix, it’s not just about getting to be in a band. It’s also about being the conduit for their listeners’ inexpressible feelings.
By writing about their own experiences with unimpeded honesty, there’s a soapbox element that comes alongside. “Any person that has a platform where people are paying attention, in our case, it’s people are listening to our music, or we’re literally standing on a stage with a microphone, and people are listening to us and care what we have to say. With that, there is a responsibility, whether or not that’s the reason you got into music, right?” says Mercedes. “The two of us are super into just creating music together and being artists. But it’s like that Spiderman quote, right? ‘With great power comes great responsibility’.” The pair laugh at this idea, and while they (probably) won’t be donning a mask and cape anytime soon, it’s not far off the mark.
“I feel like it’s undeniable that as artists, you do have this power dynamic with people who look up to you, or who listen to your music and pay attention to you, and it’s a great opportunity to say something meaningful and add value to conversations that are really difficult.” Mercedes continues. Phoenix adds: “Whether you feel like you’re the perfect person to talk about an important issue or not, if you have a microphone, you might as well say something because people are going to listen to whatever you say.” As artists writing directly from their lives, this means it all comes together in a perfect way. “We just write songs and albums about what we care about,” Phoenix says, “So it’s going to come out one way or another.”
“No matter what, someone is going to find it political based on who we are”
They’ve already reckoned with the quite hefty idea of being unintended spokespersons, since they’ve been in bands since they were in their mid-teens. “That’s kind of a crazy thing to experience when you’re that young,” Mercedes says. “When you notice that not only your peers, but even people older than you are looking up to you and showing you respect just based on being a musician, there’s actually no merit. You know what I mean? People think of you as a guru in a lot of ways, without having any real reason to think that, other than they just respect you as an artist.”
It is quite a barmy idea that because someone has written some lyrics, or even a melody or riff, that resonates, we chuck them up on a pedestal – perhaps sometimes a bit too overzealously if you’re certain acts. In fact, that’s partly why Softcult are Softcult. “A lot of the time, there are these soft cults in society,” Mercedes says. “We think of cults as being this group of people that show veneration and loyalty to one person. You could also apply that to governments, or religion, or even bands people care about. You could recognise that and use that power for good or for evil in a lot of ways, so we chose to use it for activism.
“That’s what’s important about art, and why art, historically, is so political, because it does connect in a totally different way than someone even just like making a speech and speaking directly to you,” Mercedes continues. “It just connects on a very emotional level that all people from different walks of life can relate to.”
As such, even their very existence could be considered political in their eyes. “You’ve got to keep in mind the people writing the songs that you’re hearing and creating the art that you’re hearing are two queer, female-presenting people, right?” Mercedes says. “No matter what, someone is going to find it political based on who we are as people, even if it is just literally a very natural song. We’re writing lyrics about being in love, and some people might find that a political issue, so it is what it is.”
This is why they’re happy to be painted with a political brush; if their existence is to cause a reaction, then they may as well lean into it. “People have said before that we’re a political band, and I don’t mind when people say that,” Phoenix shrugs. “As long as it’s authentic, that’s what I would rather people think of our music.” And with that, the pair’s opening chapter, finally making its way into the world, is taking all of these ideas and complexities and distilling them into a definitive Softcult project.
“You don’t ever want to seem like you’re trying to force people,” Phoenix ends. “There are grey lines, but being genuine is the best thing you can do in music and in life.” This has been the beating heart of Softcult since those early pandemic days, and even more so for their debut album, where one thing is for certain: this soil is ardent and rich, ripe for growing.
Softcult’s debut album ‘When A Flower Doesn’t Grow’ is out 30th January.
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