SoftLightes Say No! To Being Cool, Say Yes! To Being Happy by: Tom Bradbury Mon:07-May-07 Label: Modular Year: 2007 WB rating 81 out of 100

There was a story in the paper today about a man in Sydney who walks around the streets holding a giant “Free Hugs” poster, offering a gentle embrace to any and all who are interested. It’s a small but profound gesture. On the surface it does not appear to have any deeper meaning or purpose, but there is no doubting that it probably improves the day of any who choose to accept his offer. To me this is effectively what SoftLightes are doing in a musical sense. The infectious tunes of their debut album, Say No! To Being Cool, Say Yes! To Being Happy have one major design in mind: to introduce a small dose of happiness to everyone who listens to them. There is simply no way that they will be viewed as credible ‘serious artists’ by internet blog hipsters, which is most likely who the album title is directed at.

It is important to resist the temptation to lump SoftLightes in with the current crop of electro-indie pop. Sure, there are songs that echo groups like the Postal Service, such as ‘Girl Kills Bear’, where noodling synth beats and blips mingle with Fountenberry’s soft tenor, creating an aura of reflection that is quite in contrast to the rest of the album. But SoftLightes differ from the Ben Gibbard set in a quite dramatic way, as their sunshine pop owes as much a debt to 60’s folk-rock as it does to any modern indie band that they will inevitably be compared to. SoftLightes have a wistful, ‘Sunday on the grass’ quality about them, with Simon and Garfunkel harmonies and day-glo guitars. On album opener, ‘The Ballad of Theo & June’, vocalist Fountenberry sings with a classic folk tinge, backed by telltale chiming guitars – the effect is wistful and projective rather than inwardly focused, more concerned with its effect on the audience than any cathartic personal purpose. It is this song, more than ‘Girl Kills Bear’, that is truly representative of SoftLightes’ sound.

Their talent for melody is impressive, and catchy hooks seem to come to SoftLightes with ease, in a way that would be the envious to most other bands, yet there is often a degree of disposability to Say No! To Being Cool, Say Yes! To Being Happy. This is not an album that grows on you, its melodies are instantly infectious, which is both a weakness and a strength. Like the bubblegum pop of the Tin Pan Alley songwriters, SoftLightes’ music is easy to consume but difficult to take seriously. This would seem to be Fountenberry’s aim however, who remarks, “I wanted to be happy and make music that was close to my heart, even if that meant sounding silly to some people”.

Silliness is certainly an element of SoftLightes music. Although the hooks may command, the lyrics often prevent singing along with any kind of gusto – or at least gusto without an air of self-consciousness. The fault may lie more with the listener than the music though, for SoftLightes do not fail in their desire to bring happiness, as they proclaim in the album title. If you can appreciate the off-the-cuff whimsical nature of SoftLightes’ lyrics, you will have little resistance to the melodic charms of their songs. They do not want to be the next Radiohead or Arcade Fire, but rather to make people sing and dance, and break free of their melancholy with an explosion of pop bliss; and at this mission they are extremely effective.

The apotheosis of SoftLightes pop vision is the ‘The Microwave Song’. Its melody cannot be denied, working its way into your skull whether you want it to or not, in a manner that would leave even the most ardent skeptic impressed. Yet I would dearly love to know what it means to be “just a microwave”, as Fountenberry sings in the chorus. Is he referring to the household appliance or the physics term from which the said item takes its name? I hate to quibble, but the meaning could make a great deal of difference to the song’s interpretation. All the same, it is one of the most contagious hooks to appear on any album this year. The chorus is a wave of optimism, and its existential mantra, foolish as it may sound, is fueled by heavenly harmonies and a guitar progression of barely contained earnestness that make it somewhat possible to associate with his sentiments.

Occasionally, Fountenberry’s abundant pop gifts do have their drawbacks. In his desire to constantly affect happiness in his audience, Fountenberry occasionally packs one too many punches. On, ‘Leonor And Me’, an otherwise charming piece of dreamy production and drifting vocals, Fountenberry introduces a coda of ‘La la lalala’s which diminish, rather than augment, the songs tunefulness – it becomes more irritating than catchy. Thankfully, this is not a problem that occurs regularly, and it is better than having no talent for melody at all.

Say No! To Being Cool, Say Yes! To Being Happy is an album defined by its anti-cynicism and pop-ambitions, and there are few others that are so unapologetically joyful. If Fountenberry could perhaps learn to use his flair for melody a bit less wantonly, and take greater lyrical care, there is no telling what sort of scintillating pop music SoftLightes would be capable of producing.