Soft Targets – Soft Targets Must Be Destroyed

The Softies kept this particular line-up together to record their second full-length, but just barely as drummer Dave Potter would fly the coop within a week after recording the basic tracks. (At least he waited until his drum parts were finished.) Recorded in Logan Square at Kayfabe Studios, again with Kris Poulin at the helm.

ILLINOIS ENTERTAINER
Unless I am remembering incorrectly, there was a time (’78 or ’79 maybe?) when major labels started placing full-page ads in music magazines that featured both their mainstream acts (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, perhaps) and newer punk or new wave bands (like The Clash, and, yes I know they weren’t on the same label) Listening to this Soft Targets CD reminded me of these ads and that era in music. Punk and Classic rock existed as separate entities, but there was an overriding feeling that was created by the mixture of genres. There are some sonic traces of both cited bands on Soft Targets Must Be Destroyed, but it is the manifestation of the spirit of the late 70s/early 80s that makes this record an exciting modern document.—Max Herman

DEMO MAGAZINE
When we reviewed Soft Targets’ 2007 release, We Hate You Soft Targets, we wrote the band was “simple, straightforward pop-rock.” Soft Targets Must Be Destroyed! is similarly rife with dynamic chord progressions, syncopation, and, in some songs, a wall of sound. One major difference from the band’s last record is the production of the recording—Destroyed sounds fuller and more professional. The album’s best song is “Gotta Let You Go,” a sentimental piece whose universal subject matter should strike a chord with anyone who’s ever really cared about somebody else.—Brent White