The air in Academy 3 was already thick with anticipation as Softcult took to the stage after openers Glazyhaze and She's Green. They faced tough competition, performing on the same night that shoegaze pioneers my bloody valentine were in town at Aviva Studios. "You're here because you couldn't get tickets to see them!", vocalist Mercedes jested to the crowd. Canadian twin siblings Mercedes and Phoenix Arn-Horn, alongside Brent McSwiggan on guitar and Phil Hirst on bass are Softcult.
The band are masters of a sound so heavy yet beautifully ethereal, having drawn inspiration from artists such as Deftones and Slowdive. Softcult blend grunge with the atmospheric textures of shoegaze and dream-pop, creating a dense wall of sound to deliver beautiful political anthems surrounding feminism, racism, misogyny, and transphobia — reminiscent of fellow riot grrrl bands such as Mannequin Pussy and M(h)aol.
For the twins, Softcult presents a new opportunity for self-expression given the creative control they now possess over their art — a sharp contrast to their time in their former rock band, Courage My Love. They create a monthly zine called SCripture on various socio-political issues through the showcase of their music, art, and even poetry.
Credit: Miza Fatahillah @ The Mancunion
They open with a classic, 'Drain'. The song is texturally fuzzy, creating an atmospheric drone that swallows the room. Mercedes' vocals are passionate as she sings politically charged lyrics, criticising capitalistic greed and environmental destruction: "leaving a trace, building a monolith so large they can see it from space, a scar that remains after you're dead and gone". The opening track perfectly showcases their sound, as beautiful vocals cut through an unrelenting and heavy wash of instruments.
They perform their new single '16/25' from their upcoming album Where a Flower Doesn't Grow, introducing a gritty and grungy anthem. It's built on punishing and relentless drum beats from Phoenix amidst grinding, heavy guitars. The song addresses men who take advantage of underage girls, as Mercedes' haunting vocals sing "she doesn't know how to love you, she doesn't know how to drive, she doesn't know how to touch you, she's 16, you're 25".
A notable performance, new to this year's setlist, came in the form of 'Love Song', which Mercedes dedicated to the Manchester crowd. This track is a dreamy shoegaze ballad, which leans heavily into Softcult's much more dreamier, shoegaze-influenced side. The heavy guitars recede into a gentle fuzzy backdrop, creating a moment of luminous calm with a deep and resonant rumble. The ballad was sonically evocative of early-era shoegaze bands like Alison's Halo and Cocteau Twins. It was beautifully atmospheric, and a wonderful example of the new era of dream-pop.
The main set concludes on a bang with their song 'Spit It Out'. This track transformed the venue into a single kinetic mass as the crowd sang along to the lines "such a pretty mouth, but ugly words always find their way out, tell me to swallow them down, sometimes I wanna erase myself." The song was a plead to reject harmful ideologies such as misogyny, racism, and sexism which have been normalised in wider society. But, it was also pure adrenaline, an explosion of sound and raw intensity that left the audience cheering for more as the set ends.
As the encore, Mercedes returns alone and sings unreleased track 'Where a Flower Doesn't Grow'. Written about her exploration of her queer identity later in life, the track was raw and vulnerable. Stripped back from the band's typical sound, it was an intimate melody delivered beautifully by Mercedes.
Credit: Miza Fatahillah @ The Mancunion
The song ends, and her words linger in the air among a gentle buzzing still in everyone's ears. The show was everything a riot grrrl band aims to be: a synthesis of the loud, the tender, the punk, and the political, amounting to all that the band embodies.
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