SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: SOFT LIONS – XOXO

Soft Lions
XOXO
Velvet Blue Records

Following up on last year’s debut EP, Spellbreaker, the San Diego trio Soft Lions, led by Megan Liscomb, turn out six new tracks that deal with the usual pitfalls of youth, like objectification, breaking up, depression and falling in love. Previously described as post riot-grrl, noisepop, beachgrunge or psychedelic garage rock, the best that can be said for this collection of tunes is that it’s youthful, eager and energetic. However, the quality of the material and production values seem to have been forgotten on XOXO, and the songs come across as simply try-outs of various song ideas.

The six-song set sounds more like a band rehearsal than an actual commercially-released EP. This time around, the band leans a bit more into a punk style. Recorded at Tiny Telephone in San Francisco, the trio includes, apart from Liscomb, Jon Bonser on drums and Ana Ramundo on keyboards and vocals. One issue that surfaces on almost every track is that lead vocalist Liscomb is frequently out of tune. Someone should remind her that that it’s not revolutionary to be flat. Better luck next time around.

Artist Links