There is no shortcut to the magic of a band of life-long musicians with a shared history, no easy way to duplicate those creative years spent absorbing and sweating out the changing tides of a rich local music scene. Soft No, the debut EP from the Philadelphia-based project of the same name, is a record that brims with the life and talent of Scott Signorino, Allie Lannutti, Austin Lotz, Jon Martello, and Kate Lowe; five artists who spent a significant part of their lives sharing bills, sharing bands, sharing high school classes with one another’s siblings, and living across from each other as children. Such threads weave on and on and similarly, Soft No’s songwriting process is complex and interwoven, with many of its members playing instruments that were previously unfamiliar to them and writing together in ways that allow each of them an avenue for expression previously unexplored.
Soft No first began to form in February of 2023 with a remote collaboration between Signorino and Lotz, who would go on to write the guitar riffs and music for all five of the tracks on the EP. They then brought in Lannutti to compose the lyrics, vocal melodies, and bass parts, to which Jon Martello added drums and Lowe keyboard and synth textures. The record is a fusion of the five musicians, their stories and lives folding into one another seamlessly.
“I go by my intuition of what I think Scott and Austin are feeling.” Lannutti says of her lyrical process, which finds her reacting to the wordless communication of emotion from Signorino and Lotz and tapping into her own personal and intimate experiences of anger, sorrow, and nostalgia. The EP’s five songs smolder with the intensity of complex, yet somehow synchronistic expression.
The depth and urgency of the music is apparent in the record, a product of the Philadelphia music scene of which Scott, Allie, Austin, Jon, and Kate have been an integral part for many years. Over the years, the crew has straddled the hardcore, alt-rock, metal, and shoegaze scenes, and these influences color their heavy, 90’s-alternative-tinged songs and turn Soft No into a project that isn’t so easily defined. What is apparent is the love with which the songs are written and performed, and the joyful but undeniable importance of the project.
Today Glide is offering an exclusive premiere of the standout track “Melting Timelines,” which was written first by Scott Signorino and delves into the weight of existential dilemma. With its unrelenting wave of guitars and drums that feels somehow wistful and desolate at the same time, the song is a ferocious and melodic work of shoegaze that charges forward in a way that somehow balances abandonment and control to make for a work that is as infectious as it is gritty. There is a definite 90s alt-rock vibe to the music that is accentuated by the black and white video. Ultimately, the song captures this band’s ability to build expansive rock soundscapes that feel equipped for large venues.
Scott Signorino describes the inspiration and process behind the song:
Honestly this song came about by accident – I (Scott) was messing around with the intro to “Sweet Child of Mine” by Guns n’ Roses which then turned into me playing the intro to “Today” by the Smashing Pumpkins in reverse. Somewhere in there, the guitar lick to “Melting Timelines” was born.
Austin reworked a chorus riff that I came up with, I added a breakdown with panic chords after listening to too much early 2000’s metalcore one morning. When we brought it to the band – Allie wrote lyrics that tell a tale of adult self-reflection wrapped in a loose recollection of a bad psychedelic trip.
I think this was the last song we wrote before hitting the studio, incidentally. At that point, we didn’t have anything up-tempo, and this felt like the perfect opportunity to add something faster to our EP. “Melting Timelines” actually wound up being my favorite song on the record and my favorite to play live.
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This is great ????