What started out as an experiment with a cassette deck and a synthesizer quickly evolved into an outlet for self-exploration for Soft Self Portraits’s Cody Wade. Through the meditative and melancholy dream pop reveries of their record, Yarns Spun, they process a myriad of sentiments and seismic life changes. Prior to the release of the 10-song album, Soft Self Portraits will issue the single “Departures.”
Soft Self Portraits re-launched as a solo project in August of 2023 inspired by Wade’s move to Seattle. “I first tried moving here 12 years ago, and it felt daunting to find my way as a musician. When I moved back recently, I met people that were supportive and passionate about making music. That inspired me to revisit my music,” they say. These days Soft Self Portraits is an up-and-coming act in the Seattle pop-scene alongside contemporaries like Lane Lines and Super Heavy, frequently playing Sunset Tavern and Rabbit Box theater.
Yarns Spun finds Wade revisiting unreleased Soft Self Portraits full-band songs and a brace of new tracks. The music is hazy and warm, lavished with balmy harmony backing vocals, eerily familiar dreamscapes, hypnotic and minimalistic lyrics and vocal melodies, and raw, indie rock drums. Wade likens the contrast of 1980s new wave ethereal textures melded to live drums as evoking a feeling of dreaming and being awake at the same time. The 10-song album invites comparisons to LCD Soundsystem, Beach House, and Soft Bulletin-era The Flaming Lips.
Today Glide is offering an exclusive premiere of the lead single, “Departures,” an emotional centerpiece of the album. The standout track features rich and round ringing bass notes, chiming keys, delicate layers of synths, dreamy harmony vocals courtesy of Wade’s best friend, Mandi Kimes, heartfelt lead vocals, and propulsive drums. Wade takes a lo-fi approach that lends a sense of intimacy to the song, which seems to blend chillwave, dreamy bedroom pop, and indie rock into something in its own realm. We get rich harmonies floating over the simple drum beat and weaving synths, imbuing the music with more emotional power. The song was initially written during Wade’s first year of sobriety back in 2015, and it unpacks all the painfully complex relearning that comes with such a drastic change, including confronting codependency.
Cody Wade describes the inspiration behind the song:
“Departures holds a special place for me. It’s the first song written for Soft Self Portraits when I began the project almost 10 years ago and breathing new life into it with new instrumentation and harmonies really shines a light on the sentimental nature of the music.”
LISTEN:
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Love this sound…