The Softies Biography by Tim Sendra
Made up of singer/songwriter/guitarists Rose Melberg and Jen Sbragia, the Softies live up to their name by crafting quiet, intimate songs that come directly from the heart with no stops along the way. The beginning of their partnership saw the duo issue a trio of albums (1995's It's Love, 1997's Winter Pageant, 2000's Holiday in Rhode Island) that were a warm rejoinder to the noisy indie rock of the day. After a long break that saw them working on other projects, they reunited for 2024's The Bed I Made, sounding almost exactly as they had before, only with more experience to guide the songs.
The duo first got together in the early days of 1994, with both Melberg and Sbragia looking to do something a little different than the noisy indie rock they had been playing. Melberg was a member of Tiger Trap, who had recently split, and Go Sailor, a noise pop band who had just formed, while Sbragia was in Pretty Face. Based in Portland, Oregon and utilizing only electric guitars and their voices -- which often blended in perfect harmony -- they crafted an intimate, heartwarming sound that cradled their deeply felt lyrics. Obvious signposts were the Marine Girls, Linda Smith, and Tracey Thorn's first solo album, and they fit well with Elliott Smith -- who they befriended and toured with -- too. Their first release was the four-song Loveseat single, which was released by Slumberland in 1994. The duo shifted to K Records for two 1995 releases: another single, "He'll Never Have to Know," and their debut album It's Love. Both were produced by Calvin Johnson and feature the duo solidifying their approach in a lovely fashion. The band continued to play shows, often at the Magic Marker house in Portland and sometimes touring with Smith as his opening act. In 1996, Slumberland issued another EP, a self-titled set of songs recorded a few years earlier, and the duo made another single for K, "The Best Days." Meanwhile, they were working on a second album proper and in 1997 issued Winter Pageant, another subdued, introspective album that had all the magic of their debut. After one more record, 2000's Holiday in Rhode Island, that saw the duo adding some new elements like bass and keyboards to their template, Melberg and Sbragia moved on to different projects. The latter had formed All Girl Summer Band and decided to devote her attention to that. Melberg began a solo career and continued to collaborate with other artists in numerous bands (Gaze, Brave Irene, Knife Pleats) over the years. The duo occasionally reunited to play live shows, joining a brief Chickfactor-sponsored tour in 2012, and playing a benefit in Melberg's adopted city of Vancouver in 2018. They reunited in a more tangible manner in 2013 via social media. While commiserating over the loss of their respective mothers, they decided it was time to record a new Softies album. After trading demos back and forth over email, they spent a few months finalizing songs while also finding time to go out on a short tour with Tony Molina, a devoted follower of the band. They booked time in the middle of 2023 at a recording studio (the Unknown) in Anacortes, Washington -- a midway point between Vancouver and Portland -- and emerged with The Bed I Made, a record that sounds like it could have come out decades earlier but it's also colored by their experiences and their growth as musicians. It was issued in August of 2024 by Father/Daughter Records and they launched a small U.S. tour.
Tracklist
| 1 | Snow Like This | 2:38 | |
| 2 | Selfish | 3:31 | |
| 3 | All In Good Time | 3:32 | |
| 4 | Half As Much | 3:30 | |
| 5 | Sixteen Months | 2:32 | |
| 6 | Count To Ten | 3:14 | |
| 7 | Postal Blue | 1:25 | |
| 8 | Pedestal | 2:45 |
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