NEWS
EVENTS
Soft Hair go hard in debut
Soft Hair is a coalition between Late of the Pier’s Sam Eastgate and solo artist Connan Mockasin. The pair met when Mockasin supported Late of the Pier’s ravey indie beats in 2008 with his psych-pop medley of sounds.
What they’ve made together is funkier, bigger and more sophisticated than what they did before. At best, it sounds like Prince as a stoner, which is obviously the sound we’ve all been missing. Slacker pop combines with classic funk and disco sounds to create this technicoloured wonder of an LP.
It works far in the duo’s favour that they don’t take themselves too seriously – being funny in good music is really underdone. When done right, as here, the result is liberating to listen to and probably create. Like dance music back in the good old days, it’s down to earth and human as well as euphoric and floor-filling.
‘Lying has to Stop’ perfectly demonstrates how the dynamic duo’s vocal and musical styles complement each other. A sincere yet light-hearted breakup song, its soft-edged bleeps, playful vocals and lazy, woozy guitar make for an exemplary piece of chilled out dance-pop. Mockasin’s falsetto stretches to childlike squeaks and Eastgate sings in a lower voice with no less creativity.
Fabulous and fantastical, this Soft Hair has longevity.
