Released the album "Dark Zodiac", acompilation of Softcult's 3 EPs

When the world came to a screeching halt in early 2020,twin sisters Phoenix (She/They) and Mercedes Arn-Horn(She/Her) saw the opportunity to begin anew. After morethan a decade of making music together, they seized theopportunity to explore something new and different, notknowing where the road would lead them."Mercedes and I had been considering launching a newproject, but when these songs started coming to life, weinstantly felt an excitement and passion that had beenunknowingly missing for such a long time," Phoenix says.From the get-go, the sisters knew shaking things up wasessential to keep them engaged with the project. This isn'tto insinuate they had been previously coasting, but severaldifferent factors seemed to work in their favour."You don't get too many chances to start over. I'd say thebiggest difference with Softcult was the fact that it wassomething that grew in the studio, as opposed to theroad," Mercedes says. "Pre-viously, the studio was thevehicle to get back on the road where this time around, weallowed the studio to become an extension of what it waswe were looking to do. It was rewarding in a whole differentway."Driven by the upheaval that seemed to dominate the bulkof 2020, including the mobilization of the Black LivesMatter movement that resulted from the killing of GeorgeFloyd, as well as the social and financial inequalityexacerbated by the pandemic, the sisters foundthemselves channeling their frustration with the world atlarge into the music they were creating."Softcult is very socially and politically driven," Phoenixsays. "A lot of others seem to talk the talk but then nevermatch actions with their words.""We did our best to not overthink the songs and just seewhere they led us," Phoenix says. "There was no questionthat there are dark undertones to the material, but we arealso infinitely more confident that these are the right songsfor the right time."The duo's forthcoming EP release, Year of the Snake,effective- ly captures that disillusionment. Acknowledgingthe songs were darker in feeling in comparison to the duo'sdebut EP, Year of the Rat, the sisters agree they wereconsiderably more confident of their sonic footing withthese new songs."We definitely feel as though we're coming more into ourown. If you looked at Year of the Rat as being anadolescent, this new EP has seen us grow to young adult,"Mercedes says with a laugh."The most important thing is that we don't want to feel asthough we're treading water," Phoenix offers.On the guitar-driven, grunge-tinged "Spit It Out", Softcultlook to do away with detrimental societal norms that have,in many instances, endured because they were nevercalled out or questioned."'Spit It Out' is all about rejecting harmful norms in oursociety,' Mercedes says. "We're conditioned to believecertain things from the time we're young, especiallyconcerning classes and capitalism. But if you neverchallenge those norms, nothing will ever change, andinjustices will persist."Meanwhile, the vocals swirling around the sentimentallymelodic "House of Mirrors" show that aforementioneddepth the duo have found with their newest material."This song comes from more of an emotional place,"Mercedes notes. "It stems from feeling as though you'vesomehow disappointed people you love or those peoplethat believe in you. I think everyone has an idealistic viewof how life is going to go and then you come to realizethings don't always work out the way we plan."The brash "BWBB" (Boys Will Be Boys) tackles the sensitiveyet timely subject of gender-based violence and how somany males get let off the hook for their mistakes incircumstances where greater punishment is called for andwarranted."It's infuriating to see the continued hollow justification ofgen-der-based violence," Phoenix says. "It's rooted inmisogyny, and it seems as though we're stuck in thisongoing dance of one step forward, two steps back. Wehave no choice but to keep pushing ahead."Elsewhere on Year of the Snake, Softcult balances theirbiting social commentary with the more introspectivesongs "Perfect Blue" and "Gaslight." Complemented bytheir powerful vocal harmonies, "Perfect Blue" shows adepth to the duo's songwriting that gradually reveals itselfas the song progresses. Meanwhile on "Gaslight," a refrainof "I don't know what I'm doing" anchors the rhythmictrack as the song's narrator attempts to discern realityfrom what it is they perceive.Seamlessly combining Grunge, Shoegaze, Dreampop, andpunk into their "music with a message", Softcult hasquickly become the band inspiring a new Riot Grrrlmovement for the digital age. PRO: feminism, socialactivism, creative freedom, self-empowerment, genderneutrality. ANTI: sexism, racism, homophobia, trans-phobia, patriarchy.Unafraid of using their music as a force for good in theworld, the socially-minded Softcult is ready to turn theworld on its ear.