Soft Maybe is a guitar pop project of Sanders Smith, who you might know from Missoula’s Wrinkles. Writing of Wrinkles’ Other Days, we explained how the band self-describe as ‘friend rock’ and ‘farm pop’, exploring the ups and downs of contemporary living with a punchy, varied sound that maintains a buoyant energy no matter how serious the subject matter. Though the sound is altogether smoother and more dreamy, Smith follows a similar path with Soft Maybe, traversing the whole gamut of everyday emotions within his languid style.
This month sees the release of the debut Soft Maybe record, Domestic Nature, on Anything Bagel. Recorded and mixed by Lukas Phalen at HOYA Recordings in Missoula, and mastered by Mike Ditrio in Olympia, WA, Domestic Nature is a collection of fourteen soft pop gems that weave guitar harmonies and hooks together with jazz-style progressions and the odd splash of clarinet.
After the lazy, sun-drunk stir of opener ‘Takeoff’, ‘Airplane’ introduces Smith’s peppy delivery and idiosyncratic writing, possessing an intimacy and affection in its conversational tone. This is furthered by the small details across the song that bring the airplane trip to life, the Biscoff biscuits and Space Jam streams on the monitors, the Steve Reich headphone zone outs, the pining for pets and pals and loved ones. The result is indicative of the Soft Maybe sound—approachable and fun, with a sense of wit balanced by a comprehensive sincerity that breeds a genuine fondness.
This applies to the entire record, the binding force of what is otherwise an eclectic scrapbook of sounds and styles. The admission of wanting to stay home all day of ‘Lost & Found’ and the morose earnestness of ‘House Sounds’ is separated by the playful interlude of ‘Jazz School’, as though Smith is zipping between headspaces through a cartoon wormhole. Wistfulness is present in heaps (‘Drift’, ‘Okay, Fine, Alright’, ‘Closer’), giving the record a reflective dimension, though the loose-limbed cool that’s present in so many of the tracks feels rooted in the present, a full appreciation of the moment no matter how ordinary or banal.
This might be in the gentle gathering of life in ‘Morning Drone’, the mischievous beat of ‘Try Again’ or the everyday tangle of wonder and regret in the slacker-inspired ‘A Rainy Walk’. Every one of these songs finds its narrator stuck within the mundane world yet working to see beyond the ordinary, not so much to escape reality but rather breathe a new sense of value into its contours. This seems to be Soft Maybe’s mission statement: staring life’s moments in the eye, one by one, no matter of boring or trivial they may seem, then conjuring significance through sheer curiosity and earnestness.
Today we’re delighted to share the full album a little early, so grab your headphones, kick back and drift into Sanders’s easygoing world.
Photo by Emily Johnson, album art by Yeshe Parks