The Soft Pack - The Soft Pack

The trad rock'n'roll clatter of this debut from San Diego's The Soft Pack suggests that in some parts of the world The Stroke's Is This It? is still making a big impact. The Soft Pack originally went by the name The Muslims until forced to change their name because of racist comments; although, frankly, no band would chose a name like that unless they wanted to court a little controversy. Maybe controversy is something The Soft Pack are particularly adverse to, since the unambitious likes of 'Answer to Yourself' and 'More or Less' are unlikely to spark any debate beyond bewilderment that anyone could still be in thrall to this kind of raggedy arsed, whatever rock music.

At its best - the charging, frugging 'Down on Loving', or 'Move Along' with its 60s mod organ - The Soft Pack sounds like The Velvet Underground circa the rock'n'roll parodies of Loaded. At it's worst - the utterly non-descript Libertines-light of 'Tides of Time', 'Flammable', closer 'Parasites', and most of the other songs - it makes an early and very compelling bid for the title of Most Uninspired, Unnecessary and Derivative Rock Record of 2010. The Soft Pack? The Shit Pack more like it.

Richard Morris