Solid mid-to-late 90s Brit rock sound. Reminds me of Oasis and (deeper cut) Kula Shaker, and the "bigness" of the best U2. I can see the path from something like Stone Roses to this album. Overall, cool vibes, lots of raw emotion and feelings of going nowhere and listlessness, but with a underlying feeling of hope as well, knowing it'll be ok even if it doesn't seem like it at the moment. "Bittersweet Symphony" is a masterpiece (song and video) Loving the vibe of "The Rolling People" "Velvet Morning" and "Lucky Man" "The Drugs Don't Work" is a heartbreaking realization that a relationship is over, and you can't escape the feelings any longer. Really great song of grief and personal loss. I'm thinking of Indy right now listening to this and getting emotional.

The harmonies are unreal. Great psychedelic tinged folk rock. Standouts beside the hits are "Somebody Groovy" and "You Baby"

Pain in the ass to find, had to build a playlist.

There's some great songs, and the story is interesting, but it's kind of a weird listen

There's some absolute bangers on here but a lot is a little too experimental

I'm going to rate it 4 stars because it's Ella Fitzgerald and I know some of these songs but it's over 3 hours long 😅

I love the vibraphone-esque tones on Soft Shock This album reminds me that there is a ton of great stuff out there that doesn't really make its way into the public listening sphere. Going into it I thought "this will be an easy 4 star" but it is better than I thought. The build and flow of the songs are masterful

Incredible instrumentation and tight funk and ska songs. The production and interestingly the stereo mix of the songs (their left/right mix) is really good, one song has a car go from one ear to the next, lots of sounds on one side or the other to sound very immersive. They really shine on those parts, like "King size (You're my little steam whistle)", "Baked Beans" and "Lemon Firebrigade". I actually like their biggest song "Love Plus One " the least. I think "Calling Captain Autumn" is my favorite I would totally play "Favorite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)(12" Version)" in a new wave set Got some Joe Jackson vibes, particularly in the singing

"Free Will and Testament" "Alien" "Blues in Bob Minor" Floaty weird Indy rock. Reminds me of neutral milk hotel

Pre-disco Bee Gees. Some ok moments but mostly forgettable. "How can you mend a broken heart" "somebody stop the music" "Trafalgar" is like a lost Beatles track

"Orange Crush" is a classic "Turn You Inside Out" is great