ALBUM REVIEW: Softcult – ‘When A Flower Doesn’t Grow’

The title of this album is derived from a quote by Dutch inspirational speaker Alexander den Heijer: “When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower”. In essence, it relates to how an individual’s lack of thriving can be traced back to their surroundings rather than the individual themselves, an idea that struck a chord with Softcult’s Mercedes Arn-Horn. They admit their own internalised oppression despite the empowerment spoken in their lyrics, since recalibrated for something more forceful on Softcult’s debut full-length.

Any serious upheaval is more present in the background, mind. As a body of work, When A Flower Doesn’t Grow is the natural expansion of where Softcult’s clutch of EPs had positioned them. The pop sensibilities of Mercedes and Phoenix Arn-Horn’s tenure in Courage My Love remain abundant, fed into a palette of shoegaze and soft grunge. Instead, the difference comes through in intent. A longer runtime (even if not even ten minutes more than their last EP Heaven…) can make for a fuller, more explorative statement, something which Softcult definitely appear to be exploring here.

Again, none of that is particularly new for them, even concerning the areas they do explore. For instance, there isn’t a song that stands up to Dress for pairing Softcult’s own righteousness with their earworm potential. That said, When A Flower Doesn’t Grow gives the clearest look yet at what Softcult’s vision percolates into. When you take everything as a whole—the sound; the themes; the Arn-Horns’ couched, almost jaded style of delivery and mix—there’s this numbed impression that comes through. It’s set up on Pill To Swallow and Naive, songs about the burnout that comes from hope and optimistic belief being continuously ashed. From there, it hangs over inappropriate age gaps (16/25) and entitled, predatory men and the normalised culture around them (She Said, He Said), well-worn topics breathed on by a purposeful air of exasperation.

When A Flower Doesn’t Grow could be a regular punk album—very easily—though it’s ultimately a testament to Softcult that is isn’t. If it were, the same layers of discontent just wouldn’t be here, bearing the doomed loop of abuse that seems immutably closed, no matter how much change is sought. There’s tangible evidence for that, too, on this very album, as Hurt Me and Tired! do, in fact, try to have it both ways. Straightforward punk coagulates into bleary nothingness thanks to shoegaze production that’s not a comfortable bedfellow in the slightest. The latter is especially ill-defined, and chipped down to a fragment to compound its ineffectuality.

They’re absolutely outliers, mind; for the majority of the album, Softcult are dab hands at knowing what works for them specifically. Their shoegaze is immaculately produced, very polished and professional in the sheen its afforded. It’s carried out beautifully on I Held You Like Glass, a more yearning display where the immaculate vocal harmonies and expertly timed swells and crescendos are indicative of Softcult at their absolute best. On the more volatile end of things, the anger of She Said, He Said is centralised through filters to obscure the Arn-Horns even more, before a spit of venom when “He’s such a nice fucking guy!” snaps out of the wall of post-punk sound.

Add in the pop nous that winds back some of shoegaze’s more abrasive tendencies, and it becomes clear how appealing the sound that Softcult have crafted is. It helps that, even with that, it’s never underfed or subject to dead air. This is a very well-built sound, as it has been from the start and continues to be with minimal tampering. There’s a strong guitar foundation, not necessarily brimming with pizzazz but churning and jangling with full purpose on Naive and Not Sorry respectively. It’s similar with the rhythm section, albeit sometimes stretching to a harder, firmer tone like on She Said, He Said that does last a while longer. Overall, though, it’s exceptionally put together, even elbowing past the walls of a usual monochrome production job to enjoy some variety. The punk pivots are…there, but the gentler float and shudder of the title track demonstrates a much more effective way to branch out.

Altogether, it’s the sort of package you’d only get from a band with both a meticulously-designed style, and the experience to know where its shine lies. The fact that When A Flower Doesn’t Grow is more an expansion on Softcult’s slew of EPs than a reworking is ultimately a good sign on both fronts. They’ve had this degree of finish about them from the start, and it’s still effective in a longer form. When their disinterest in shying away from pertinent subjects now only rings as more resolute, a healthy future for Softcult appears as a dead cert. There’s no danger of this flower not growing or blooming.

For fans of: Turnover, Sweet Pill, chokecherry

‘When A Flower Doesn’t Grow’ by Softcult is released on 30th January on Easy Life Records.

Words by Luke Nuttall