Not long after the breakup of Reagan National Crash Diet came Soft Targets Chicago version. I say the Chicago version because there were at least three other bands with that name at one point. But I digress. Anyway, the band started as an idea I had for a power trio. The only thing I knew about this future band, other than the 3-piece nature of it, was that I had to play a Flying V. I knew it would be different than the faster punk of my previous band. I also had a logo and a few song ideas, but no members.
I started practicing with Carol Bales, the now-former bass player for RNCD at my Logan Square apartment in 20024. Soon after we hooked up with Perry Finch who I knew from the Winthrop House days when he was in Vambo Marble Eye with Mike Wing. Perry and his wife Tina Martin (another Winthrop House alum and drummer in Smitten) practiced above a costume shop on Howard Street in East Rogers Park.
I believe we practiced only once before Carol decided that this long bus ride up Western Avenue from her apartment in Ukrainian Village was too much. Tina Finch took over on bass. Reg Shrader soon joined on bass. Reg played in Seam and was in the original lineup of Circus Lupus. I knew him from RNCD days as a friend of New Rob Robbies. Old friend Tim Davison replaced Tina and we had our first consistent lineup for recording.
See the discography below for the rest of the band’s history. It all ended amicably when I decided to move to Madison, Wisconsin in 2012. That’s when I started Empire Smalls as a solo recording project.
Soft Targets Discography
Soft Targets released 10 records including two 7-inch records, 1 EP CD, 2 digital EPs, and 4 full-length CD LPs. Here they are in chronological order.
(Let It) Ricochet b/w Straight Line
7″ RC008 [RoosterCow Records] 2006
This seven-inch was recorded by Eric Block at Semaphore, located in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood of Chicago. We did three songs—the two that appear on this single, and then a version of “Systems” that was eventually released on The Rise and Fall of Soft Targets cassette. This would be the only recording we did with original Soft Targets drummer Perry Finch.
Tracking Listing
Side A:
(Let it) Ricochet
Side B:
Straight Line
Lineup
Tim Davison: bass
Perry Finch: drums
Chris Auman: guitar, vocals
Reg Shrader: guitar, backing vocals
Buy “(Let It) Ricochet b/w Straight Line” from RoosterCow Records.
Whatever Happened to Soft Targets?
CD EP RC010 [RoosterCow Records] 2007
We recorded the five songs for this EP at Electrical Audio in the Avondale neighborhood of Chicago. Yes, this is Steve Albini’s studio. No, we did not meet him. Kris Poulin was the engineer. Tim was leaving the band so Whatever Happened… is sort of a clearing the deck of older songs before we started on what would become our debut full-length later in the year. I can’t remember if we spent two days recording the basic tracks or just one, but the vocals were done at Semaphore. This EP also features new drummer Dave Potter.
Tracking Listing
Returning
Clearing the Brush
(on Brokeback Mountain)
Crushed
Black Radiance
I’m Sold
Lineup
Dave Potter: drums
Chris Auman: guitar, vocals
Tim Davison: bass, bell chimes on “Crushed”
Reg Shrader: guitars, percussion
Buy Whatever Happened to Soft Targets? from RoosterCow Records.
We Hate Your Soft Targets
CD RC011 [RoosterCow Records] 2007
After three years with a revolving line-up that did not allow for many live shows, Soft Targets Chicago had a lot of songs. Whatever was leftover after Whatever ended up on this record. This was recorded with Kris Poulin at O.G.D.M.U in Logan Square, Chicago. It features Dan Kiss on bass which would form the longest-lasting line-up of Soft Targets up to this point, no small feat, it must be said. Former Soft Targets bass player, Tina Finch, returns to help out on “Line to My Head.”
Tracking Listing
Walk Away
Maybe You Will
Glass
Systems
Line to My Head
Traitors & Spies
See You on the Way Back Down
Inside Your Love
Black, Blue Black
Blood
Weird Weather
Moving On
Lineup
Dan Kiss: bass, percussion
Dave Potter: drums, percussion
Chris Auman: vocals, guitars
Reg Shrader: guitars, percussion
Tina Finch: backing vocals on “Line to My Head”
Buy We Hate You Soft Targets! from RoosterCow Records.
“The Kids Want Action b/w Don’t Ask Why“
7″ Device-4 [Loud Devices] 2008
John Dunlevy provided a home for our second single on his Loud Devices label. This seven-inch kicks off with “The Kids Want Action”, a track from our as-yet-to-be-released second record. It’s followed by a non-LP B-side; the Monkee’s inspired, “Don’t Ask Why.” Local artist, Mike Dixon, provided the cover which features a Mitt Romney-type politician (with three mouths) set against a backdrop of delicious curly fries. Mmmmm. Jane Hanna and future Soft Targets drummer, Chris Negrete (both from the band Vamplifier) helped out on vocals.
Tracking Listing
Side A:
The Kids Want Action
Side B:
Don’t Ask Why
Lineup
Reg Shrader: guitars, backing vocals
Chris Auman: guitars, vocals
Dave Potter: drums
Dan Kiss: bass, backing vocals
Jane Hanna: keyboards, backing vocals
Chris Negrete: backing vocals
Buy “The Kids Want Action” 7-inch from Loud Devices
Soft Targets Must Be Destroyed!
CD RC012 [RoosterCow Records] 2008
The dreaded sophomore slump. We kept this particular line-up together to record our second full-length, but just barely. Dave Potter would fly the coop within a week after recording the basic tracks on Destroyed. At least he waited until his drum parts were finished. This was recorded in Logan Square at Kayfabe Studios, again with Kris Poulin at the helm. Sophomore slump? I don’t know. Maybe.
Tracking Listing
Bird Collision
The Kids Want Action
One More to Burn
Honestly
(There’s Gonna Be) Changes
Excitement!
Faulty Wiring
We Run This City
Dust in the Air
Gotta Let You Go
Lineup
Reg Shrader: guitars, percussion, backing vocals
Chris Auman: guitars, vocals, harmonica
Dave Potter: drums
Dan Kiss: bass, backing vocals
Jane Hanna: keyboards, backing vocals
Chris Negrete: backing vocals
Buy Soft Targets Must Be Destroyed! from RoosterCow Records.
Don’t Put Out
CD RC013 [RoosterCow Records] 2009
Soft Targets had to do a quick rebound after Dave Potter flaked. We recruited Chris Negrete who was already playing drums in Vamplifier who we shared a practice space. The rest of the Vamps, Scott Shehan and Jane Hanna helped out with vocals and Tina Finch returned to provide backing vocals on “Big Cats”. Adam Scott, guitarist for Chicago garage rock band, The Mediums, laid down multiple solo guitar takes for the cover of Mystic Tide’s, “Frustration.” Poulin again in The Square at the studio now known as Armitage Shanks.
Tracking Listing
Figure It Out
When the Apocalypse Comes
I Don’t Act Right
Some Days
Public World
Runaround
Idiot Clause
Frustration
Western Civ.
Big Cats
Lineup
Reg Shrader: guitars, percussion, backing vocals
Chris Auman: guitars, vocals
Dan Kiss: bass, backing vocals
Chris Negrete: drums, backing vocals
Jane Hanna: backing vocals
Scott Shehan: backing vocals
Tina Finch: backing vocals on “Big Cats”
Buy Don’t Put Out from RoosterCow Records.
Above the Arctic Circle
CD RC014 [RoosterCow Records] 2010
Soft Targets kick out their fourth full-length record at PRECISION! studios. Recorded, as always, by engineer Kris Poulin, this ten-track disc is a limited run of 300 copies. Benefiting from a solid and consistent line-up, Above the Arctic Circle displays a tight set of songs and a great sound. The Softies also get a little help from Lavette Brown and Jane Hanna on backing vocals.
Tracking Listing
Arctic Circle
Right Now
The Dust We Raise
World Won’t End
All right in the Morning
Vitamin B
Don’t Trust Anyone
That Just Happened
Trouble Squad
Bed of Nails
Lineup
Reg Shrader: guitars, percussion, backing vocals
Chris Auman: guitars, vocals, harmonica
Dan Kiss: bass
Chris Negrete: drums, backing vocals
Jane Hanna: backing vocals
Lavette Brown: backing vocals
Buy Above the Arctic Circle from RoosterCow Records.
The Mediums/Soft Targets Split
Split 7″ RC015 [RoosterCow Records] 2011
Old friends The Mediums agreed to go in on a split seven-inch with us. We had this song of Negrete’s leftover from the Arctic Circle recording. Just Chris N. and Reg played on it and Negrete did the vocals. We thought it was a good fit with the full-on rock that The Mediums always bring to the turntable. We went for a mix of colors on the vinyl. Dixon made our side of the cover. There are many variations.
Tracking Listing
Side A:
Out of My Mind—The Mediums
Side B:
Zombie Holiday—Soft Targets
Lineup
Chris Negrete: guitar, drums, vocals
Reg Shrader: guitar
Buy The Mediums/Soft Targets split from RoosterCow.
The Rise and Fall of Soft Targets
Cassette Pet Cassette CPC01 [2012]
This tape features songs from seven-inch singles, outtakes, and alternate versions of a few songs. “(Let it) Ricochet” was one of the first four or five Softies songs ever and “Straight Line” was as well. The two tracks made up the first Soft Targets seven-inch for RoosterCow in 2006. The version of “Systems” was also recorded during those two days at Semaphore. A different version would later appear on our debut full-length, We Hate You Soft Targets The Monkee-fied “Don’t Ask Why” was the b-side to the “The Kid’s Want Action” 7″. “Bitter Pill” was a weird outtake from the same recording session.
Tracking Listing
Side A:
(Let it) Ricochet*
Straight Line*
Systems (Semaphore Version)*
Don’t Ask Why†
Side B:
Bitter Pill†
Tromboner†
When the Apocalypse Comes (Slow Version)•
Frustration (x4 Adam)•
Cylon Tina•
Lineup
Reg Shrader: guitars, vocals
Chris Auman: guitars, vocals
Dan Kiss: bass
• Tina Finch: vocals
•Chris Negrete: drums, backing vocals
*Tim Davison:bass
*Perry Finch: drums
†Dave Potter: drums
There’s a slower version of “Apocalypse” with Tina Finch on backing vocals and an alternate version of “Frustration” with multiple guitar leads from Adam Scott. Finally, “Cylon Tina” (misspelled on the cover as “Cylon Tina”), is messin’ around with her backing track to “Western Civ” from the Destroyed record.
Buy the The Rise & Fall of Soft Targets from the RoosterCow Store.
Night After Day After Day
Digital LP RC017 [RoosterCow Records] 2019
Right on schedule, the Softies returned to Poulin’s studio on Armitage to record the latest batch of songs. The last nine Soft Targets songs were recorded in two days with vocals added a week or two later. Unintentionally, almost all the songs had a theme of either day or night or somehow concerning time in one way or another. It would all make sense eventually.
Tracking Listing
Lights are Bright (Conspiracy Theory)
Bullets Over Brighton Park
Twenty-Four Hours
Rollercoaster Days
Hey, Sunshine
Younger Days
Lineup
Chris Auman: guitar, vocals
Reg Shrader: guitar
Dan Kiss: bass
Chris Negrete: drums, backing vocals
Buy Night After Day After Day from RoosterCow Records.
Ghosted
Digital EP RC018 [RoosterCow Records] 2020
The last word on the Soft Targets. This digital EP contains the last three unreleased songs the Softies recorded with Kris Poulin in 2011. It’s dark, it’s unpolished, and it’s definitely about the end of something. Or is it the beginning of something else? When we disbanded, there were still a few songs left over from the last recording session that ended up being the Night After Day after Day digital LP. I debated whether these stragglers should ever be released at all but finally decided to make them available as a digital EP on Bandcamp.
Tracking Listing
Your Ghost is Toast/I Have No Say
Don’t Fall Apart Please
Starry-Eyed (unfinished)
Lineup
Chris Auman: guitar, vocals
Reg Shrader: guitar
Dan Kiss: bass
Chris Negrete: drums, backing vocals
Buy the Ghosted EP from RoosterCow Records.
Soft Target Shows
2012
01/14 PANCHO’S Softie’s Last Stand! Final Soft Targets show w/Party Downers and Arsenal Road
2011
09/29 BEAT KITCHEN w/ Sentinels, Board of Governors & Warhellride. Blackout at the BK, no band got to play
08/12 MEMORIES w/ Release show for split 7″! Uma Thurmans, Bill Ura Dik & The Life Champions
05/21 MEMORIES w/ Phantom Works, The Cell Phones & Days Off
04/29 88.7 WLUW “Razor & Die Show”, live in-studio performance
04/09 CAL’S LIQUORS w/ The City Streets (from Montreal), Lake Street Dive (from Brooklyn), Somersault Factory
02/26 QUENCHERS w/ Eric Howell’s Greatest Hitch and the Kevin Lee Band
01/08 PANCHO’S w/ Heavy Bombers, Victory Auto Rockers, and Via Verso
2010
11/11 THE MUTINY CD Release show for Above the Arctic Circle w/ The Sentinels and Phantom Works
10/30 KNOX AVENUE HOEDOWN w/ Booker Noe and Team Satan
04/23 THE MUTINY w/ Mean Ohio and TBA & the TBDs. Wiglar’s B-Day Bash
2009
10/09 WHPK 88.5 FM “Pure Hype” radio show, University of Chicago
09/19 BOTTOM LOUNGE w/ Hey Zeus, Last Fast Action, The Gnomes
09/03 WLUW 88.7 “Radio One” radio show. Live-to-tape performance and interview
08/06 QUENCHERS w/ Slick Conditions and Dos Boton
07/30 THE MUTINY w/ TBA & the TBDs
05/20 BEAT KITCHEN w/ Moshi Moshi Kaiju and Lemmy Caution
04/19 REGGIE’S “7th Annual CHIRP Record Fair” w/ Baby Teeth, Pet Lions, Ultramark, The Valley Of the Ghosts
03/24 CHIC-A-GO-GO, Ch 19, Episode #608
03/18 CHIC-A-GO-GO, Ch 19, Episode #608
03/01 THE EMPTY BOTTLE w/ Mean Ohio & Beautiful Lepers
2008
12/13 THE BOTTOM LOUNGE “Rory Lake’s Battle of the Bands 5” w/ Veterans, Jumpsuit & Cougars
10/25 RONNY’S w/ The Mediums, Shotgun for Royalty & Animal City
09/12 THE MUTINY w/ Titmice & The Party Downers
08/30 THE BOTTOM LOUNGE w/ Mr. Russia, Titmice and Papillion
08/29 PHYLLIS’ MUSICAL INN w/ Vamplifier
08/08 CARY’S LOUNGE Chris Auman solo acoustic w/ Tom Comerford, Matt Seifert & Stanley Ross
07/25 CAL’S LIQUORS w/ The Aliens, 20th Century Rocket Bldg. & Black Actress
06/19 REGGIE’S w/ Mean Ohio, Papillion & Bone Tosser
05/22 DARKROOM w/Farewell Captain & Ellie Maybe Experience
2007
11/17 PERMANENT RECORDS, in-store performance
11/17 THE NOTE w/ ClockCleaner, Why Intercept? & Anon, Good Nurse
10/13 THE MUTINY w/ The Steve Gattermeyer Band, Sleepy Kissers, The Box Bruisers & Tastes Like Dirt
09/17 BETTY’S BLUE STAR LOUNGE w/ Sisero
09/14 WHPK 88.5 FM “Pure Hype” radio show, University of Chicago
08/25 THE NOTE w/ Joesepi, Quatre Tet, & The Life & Times
06/21 QUENCHERS w/ Vamplifier
06/01 OTTO’S w/ The Singles, The Braves & Will Phalen and the Stereo Addicts
04/12 THE NOTE w/ The Grackles, Grinner, and The Moaners
02/10 RONNY’S BAR Release show for Whatever Happened to Soft Targets w/ Vamplifier and Three Blue Teardrops.
02/10 PERMANENT RECORDS in-store performance
2006
12/31 THE MUTINY w/ Vamplifier and Unconcious Pilot
12/08 THE NOTE w/ Cola Wars and The Clerics
07/20 THE NOTE w/ In Praise of Folly, The Skies We Built and Charles DeGaulle
05/20 GUNTHER MURPHY’S w/ Release show for “(Let it) Ricochet” b/w “Straight Line” The Clerics & Kasper Hauser
04/21 CAL’S LIQUORS w/ Plasma Drive & Functional Blackouts
04/14 WHPK 88.5 FM Pure Hype radio show, University of Chicago
03/10 NITE CAP LOUNGE w/ The Slats, Waste & The Grackles
01/21 BEAT KITCHEN w/ The Braves & Coupleskate
2005
08/19 SILVIE’S LOUNGE w/ Mt. Calm & Roebuck
07/30 FLETCHER STREET BLOCK PARTY w/ Coupleskate, Snack Time & The Finches
Soft Target Press
Some nice things and some not-so-nice things critics said about our recordings.
Don’t Put Out
Amerikana UK
Soft Targets lay out their stall with the first blast of a track: “Figure It Out”; as juicy a slice of garage punk as you could ask for, heavy opening riffs, drum bashing and a I-don’t-care-what-you’re-saying-but-I’m-confident-you’ll-get-the-point-in-the-end vocal. Come, on, I’m listening. We all know what’s going on, how about you? Capped with a kiss-off that smacks so much of early Roxy Music that you can almost hear Brian Ferry warbling something perverse and impenetrable over the top of it.
To follow this with “When the Apocalypse Comes” is a tragedy. It’s like a poor TV parody of a punk band with nuthin’ to say and nihilism on their mind. Using the title phrase as the chorus makes this just unbearable. Fortunately the third cut, “I Don’t Act Right”, comes along strutting in Lou Reed’s leathers, a seedy bass-heavy attempt at self-justification – sleazes Chris Auman : “I know I ain’t perfect and I’m not real fine (is it a crime ?) No”.
Melodic Garage
“Some Days” is garage again, a drone-heavy melodic garage, and is catchy, catchy, catchy, with an extended heavy guitar solo at the end which distances the song from any punk pretensions. And “Public World” keeps the Soft Targets mining the same seam, with, get this, gentle guitar work over pounding drums, conjuring up a confused hazy state over which Auman can croon “I want something to do, I want something to do” – ennui seasoned with detachment.
“Runaround” and “Idiot Clause” are all new wavy punk, the first stealing a basic rock ‘n’ roll riff and attitude, the second wanders around the same ground, and if it weren’t for the drum patterns halfway through would be forgettable. I get the feeling that the Soft Targets have a great affection for late ’70s punk, but their attempts at it are their weakest moments. “Frustration” (originally by The Mystic Tide) shows them playing to their strengths again, a proto-punk song wrapped up in a ’60s garage band mentality, it’s all there, down to the chanted backing vocals.
Soft Targets stray into the political realm to an apocalyptic fuzz drone – the decline, “Western Civ” claims, of the west is not the fault of hipster nations, and it’s not worth trading for all the snow in Scandinavia. The oil in Arabia ? Well, that’s a different matter.
The album closer – and presumably the final encore of their live performances – is “Big Cats” a perfect danceable blend of the B52’s and Blondie, art school punk with Auman dueting with Tina Finch whose shiny happy vocal bounces around like a perky Claire Grogan.
Good trick, open and close with the two best songs on the album.
Deli Magazine
To start things off, I could personally write volumes about how good this CD is, but I have to fit this into a tiny blog post so let’s get going. Soft Targets is signed to Roostercow Records and Don’t Put Out is their third album. It starts with the ragingly good “Figure It Out” sure to be a crowd-pleaser at upcoming shows. It sets the stage perfectly for the rest of the record. With upbeat rhythms and long jam sections, it perfectly portrays both kinds of songs you will hear on the rest of the album.
Things move on with “Some Days” and “Public World”, two songs that show roots in old-school hardcore circa ’85 DC. Bands like Fugazi and Rites Of Spring, even a little Moss Icon (minus the screaming) show through. This band has definitely done their homework. And the inspiration doesn’t stop there “When The Apocalypse Comes” is blatant in its Misfits inspiration, the Danzig vocals are ever present along with the this-is-the-end-of-the- world mentality to the lyrics. The punk rock grooves embellish it nicely.
The second half of the album continues the feel while taking it to more jamming and garage rock revival directions ala Cage the Elephant and Manchester Orchestra. They take it to new places however with their biting cover of “Frustration” which has an almost trance/sitar style of guitar work in the bridge.
Overall this album is an amazing release. Give it time and dare I say it, “Soft Targets” might be one of the most influential bands in the upcoming garage rock revival movement. Keep your eye on this band. You just might be witnessing history in the making.
Whisperin’ Hollerin’ (UK)
Responsible for artists as diverse and seismic as Wilco, Tortoise, Smog, and The Handsome Family, Chicago holds an esteemed place in this writer’s heart. The fact that Soft Targets also hail from the magnificent Windy City is a good start in itself, but it also means they’re up against some inspirational competition.
And, in truth, Don’t Put Out (the band’s third album after 2007’s debut We Hate You Soft Targets and last year’s sophomore release Soft Targets Must Be Destroyed!) isn’t quite enough to see them elevated to the heights we’ve come to expect from the cream of Chicago’s population. It’s not bad at all and it certainly has its’ moments, but ultimately it’s a decent enough garage-flavoured indie album and little more.
You can at this stage say “ok fine” and walk away, because you’ve heard all this before. And in places you have. Certainly, the album has a bit of a slump mid-way (around the time of the solid, but unexciting “Public World”) and a disappointing conclusion courtesy of the lippy, but disposable “Western Civilisation” and interchangeable garage action of “Big Cats”. Yet despite these blemishes, you should still stick around because there’s some half-decent gear to be savoured here too.
In Love with Pop Punk
For starters, Soft Targets are clearly in love with the best pop-punk out there. Short, sharp songs like “When The Apocalypse Comes”, “Idiot Clause” and “Runaround” (which comes complete with a gloriously untutored bass solo of all things) are full of nervy riffs and punky aggression a la Buzzcocks or Ash, while the slightly more experimental likes of “Figure It Out” and the spirited “I Don’t Act Right” have a seat-of-the-pants DIY charm that’s truly seductive in selected doses.
The eerie edge of “Some Days” is another memorable contender, though ironically the album’s stand out track is its’ cover version (admittedly a relatively obscure one) in the shape of The Mystic Tide’s “Frustration”. I know sod all about The Mystic Tide, save they were a psychedelic-influenced garage-rock outfit, but if their back catalogue harbours more in the tuff, Chocolate- Watch-Band-with-sitars vein of this song, then I’d like to hear it. Very much, actually.
All of which sounds like I’m damning Don’t Put Out with faint praise. Possibly I am, because as yet Soft Targets haven’t quite sussed out the special formula that will put them ahead of the pack. For all that, there’s something at work here that suggests writing Soft Targets just yet could well be a mistake. So let’s cut them some slack. They are from Chicago, after all.
Soft Targets Must Be Destroyed
Demo Magzine
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.
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.
Tough Customer
Soft Targets is a rock ‘n’ roll band from Chicago. Note that I’m specifically using the term ‘rock n roll and not “indie rock.” These guys are certainly independent, but their songs are full of big guitars, big pop hooks, and best of all, big endings (big endings are totally rad! -ed). Their sound is more similar to The Smithereens or Urge Overkill than to any of the shaggy blog rock bands pouring out of Brooklyn. And like any good rock band, they’ve been through about a thousand line-up changes since they formed in 2005, which makes their solid, cohesive sound even more impressive.
We Hate Your Soft Targets
Illinois Entertainer
The members of Soft Targets aren’t kids, and as a result, the dozen songs on We Hate You Soft Targets reveal a maturity and gravity often missing from the repertoire of younger acts. Their post-punk sound is wholly appealing, and tunes like ‘Walk Away’ and ‘See You On The Way Back Down’ exhibit a singular blend of energy and ennui. It’s grown-up music that happily retains a youthful oomph.
Time-Out Chicago
Chicago’s Soft Targets have always been known as a supergroup—although the lineup has rotated so much that which groups make it “super” are constantly changing. Suffice to say, you’ve got alums from Seam, Lustre King, and Reagan National Crash Diet here, and a sound that veers from punky pop to the more dramatic, minimalist leanings of early Raygun/Pegboy. Tonight the band celebrates the release of its latest full-length, We Hate You Soft Targets! (the band also plays a free show at Permanent Records at 2:30 pm today). Philly’s Clockcleaner (on Baltimore’s Reptilian Records) plays music you could clean your clock to—if you wanted to bust it into little pieces, rhythmically stomp on it, and then kick it to all corners of the room.
Demo Magazine
Despite numerous line-ups since the band’s inception in the summer of 2004, Soft Targets released this cohesive album this fall. The sound is simple, straightforward pop-rock (think the Toadies meet the Pixies). The band’s previous release, Whatever Happened to Soft Targets?, an EP, received positive reviews from the local press. “This four-piece just about nails an icy-cool, post-punk sound halfway through the Only Ones and Joy Division,” wrote Miles Raymer in the Chicago Reader. And bassist Dan Kiss, whose chugging baselines sound dirtier than the dirtiest White Stripes song, works a day job that seems unlikely for an older indie rocker: he’s a Cook County assistant public defender.
Whatever Happened to Soft Targets?
New City
The post-punk Chicago unit—which borrows gracefully from indie-rock royalty like Dinosaur Jr. and Built to Spill—aim high with Whatever Happened to Soft Targets? the group’s new EP. Opener “Returning” shoegazes its way through under-mixed vocals and a nice delayed guitar lead, all backed by a fuzzy, distorted guitar progression. “Clearing the Brush (on Brokeback Mountain)”—if you can get past the title—works as a countrified instrumental, jangly and moving-down-the-trail in an assured way.
“Crushed” is pure pop, reggae-ish in its guitar parts, and a rock song that could actually benefit from a horn section, if the band had the resources. The next track, “Black Radiance,” is bona fide early nineties rock, minor chords and distortion, world-crushing depression and angst. While the band mixes genres a bit and could probably use a different distortion pedal, there’s something very endearing about the closer “I’m Sold,” my favorite of the group, should be able to sell you with the lyric “Same shit, different day.”
Chicago Reader
On the new EP Whatever Happened to Soft Targets?, this four-piece just about nails an icy-cool postpunk sound halfway between the Only Ones and Joy Division. The guitars jump from overdriven chugging to expansive, echoing chords, the drums are trebly and brittle with slapback reverb, and vocalist Chris Auman sings with world-weary aloofness—when he hits the occasional wrong note, it just sounds like he can’t see the point of trying any harder. But while icy-cool postpunk leans pretty hard on a specific production style, it also needs songs, and these guys don’t have them. Whatever Happened starts promisingly with the shoegazery “Returning,” which features some great drum bashing from Dave Potter and a simple, catchy vocal melody.
Illinois Entertainer
Soft Targets’ five-song Whatever Happened To Soft Targets? serves up a nice enough guitar-charged garage/grunge /pop with Bunnymen echoes to document the ever-in-flux band’s sound circa 2006. However, the sole instrumental (“Clearing The Bush”) aside, the simplistic lyrics and weak, poorly enunciated vocals sound as if afterthought additions that otherwise undercut the other four songs.