Long Neck are a band that’s been making the rounds with their album releases. The brainchild of one Lily Mastrodimos, the band is known for the way they juxtapose hard hitting lyrics with softer sounds. This style is what forms the basis of their latest album, “Soft Animal,” a record all about trying to stay in touch with long lost parts of yourself. So, how does it sound?
The first track on the album is titled “Evergreen,” and it’s an interesting little piece. At only 56 seconds, it’s nice and short, but it brings up some of the albums themes and questions. This is directly followed up on by the song “Ants,” which speaks on the singer’s general insecurities with themselves. Calling out their own shortcomings and actions, it’s juxtaposed by beautiful instrumentals.
Next, we have “Cut & Burn,” where the instrumentals get turned up in terms of creativity and intensity. With that said, things are still quite peaceful sounding, but the underlying darker tones come up to the surface a bit more. It’s incredibly fun to listen to how the song cuts into itself thematically.
“The Headwaters,” comes up after, and it once again continues the overall tone of the album. Long Neck shift genres slightly, turning this one into an emotional ballad. Here, the built up angst over the past few songs comes out in full force, performed beautifully once again.
With all that said, “Crabby,” is then a fun change of pace for the album. Instead of the soft, introspective songs so far, “Crabby,” is far more explicit and emotionally forward. It’s short at only 1 minutes and 24 seconds, but it serves as a nice refresher before “Gardener,” another album highlight.
“Gardener,” serves an excellent summation of the entire album. It sounds tired, longing and pained in all the best ways, while still retaining the peaceful tone the album has maintained so far. It’s the best song on the album, with some of the most striking songwriting.
Long Neck then hit you with another shift with “558,” featuring a much more abrasive tone. It’s a short one before “Visitor,” kicks in bringing things back to the established sound. It also serves as a good wrap up for the overarching story of the album. This leaves the album to be closed by the titular track “Soft Animal,” fittingly ending things with a personal, introspective piece that builds to an uproarious climax.
With “Soft Animal,” Long Neck have hit the ball out of the park. It’s their most polished album yet, but still retains all their signature highlights. We give this one a hearty recommendation, it’s a great little piece that any fan of folksier style music will love.
