Sister Come On | The Soft Explosions

The other band of note from yesterday's Knitting Factory shindig was The Soft Explosions. I caught this band a week ago, today, at Mercury Lounge when they opened for Tapes 'n Tapes. I remember being quite impressed, but unfortunately I got sidetracked with phone calls and people that I missed most of their set.

Luckily I gave my undivided attention to the band and rightfully so. I hate to admit it but I regard any band with a female player differently. Girls in bands usually just bother me. There are a certain few that can pull it off, but guys can get away with not being that good much easier. But in NYC's own The Soft Explosions, lead guitarist Irina Yalkowsky is probably one of the best guitar players I've seen live, male or female. She doesn't try to pull any other shenanigans; she just plays, and plays damn well. If I knew more about equipment or technical aspects, I bet I'd be raving about her guitar. In fact, all of their instruments looked really snazzy. But I don't, so I'll just say they looked pretty cool.

The band seems stuck in a time warp from the 60's arena rock and I like that they keep it that way. They really don't try and mix in anything current or hip, and it translates to be quite authentic. As of now, they only have a 7" available. How retro. You can listen to some of the tracks on their myspace page. Get ready to rock.

Soft Explosions - Sister Come On

Soft Explosions - Ride Between The Eyes (Live)