Soft Kill – Escape Forever (Review)

“Stillstand ist der Tod” (“Stagnation is death”) is a phrase coined by a famous German singer called Herbert Grönemeyer (the song this is taken from is “Bleibt alles anders”). One can hardly imagine a more fitting phrase for the musical evolution of Soft Kill. There hasn’t been any repetition or longer pause of releases (Metta World Peace was released merely a year ago) in the Soft Kill camp.

The musical direction of Soft Kill has once again shifted slightly. Canary Yellow almost passed as a “classic” indie album, while Metta World Peace offered a more familiar sound in the style of Premium Drifter. Escape Forever is now the blend of the last two releases. It sounds more like a “real” band again than its predecessor.

Beside the mentioned musical shifts, the overall atmosphere of the first album-half is “sunnier”. I would even go so far as to call it the “happiest” sounding Soft Kill until now. Many of the songs practically scream to be played on a warm spring afternoon. Songs like “My Section” or “Joy is a Crime” perfectly embody this newly found lightness.

In the second half of the album, one feels pleasantly reminded of Dead Kids, R.I.P. City. “Come Hang From The Roof Tops” or the magnificent “Englewood” carry these unmistakable characteristics of bittersweet-uptempo-melancholia only Soft Kill can deliver. The closing “Escape Forever” (the track) releases the listener with a mixture of butterflies in your chest and a joyful tear in your eye for the great memory that has just been created.

Of course does Escape Forever not disappoint. It is a phenomenon that Soft Kill release great music this regularly without ever doing a misstep (in my humble opinion). There is so much quality and emotional value to get out of this album it will surely have its place among the best works in their catalogue.