Soft Hair – Soft Hair
Good luck trying to pin down Soft Hair, the collaborative album between Connan Mockasin and Sam Eastgate, which exists on the same plane of reality as its creators – certainly not ours. It’s no surprise; after all, they’ve each challenged pop conventions within their solo material, albeit in very different ways. Mockasin’s penchant for lustful psychedelia infuses his music with an unsettling eroticism, while Eastgate, aka Sam Dust, now records under the moniker LA Priest – heavily leaning on vocal loops and minimalist production to construct his futurist sound. It’s no small miracle that the two blend together so well.
It’s pop, but not as you know it. Take lush lead single Lying Has to Stop. The infectious hook and romantic subtext are there, but buried beneath a slurry of unsettling vocals and wacky lyrics: “I like to watch you run / But I'll never touch your bum”, Mockasin croons over a retro synth line. It’s romantic, kinda, but in the same way as your dodgy uncle after a few too many. It’s the sort of line that probably sounded cute when written, but just comes off as sleazy. And you can bet Soft Hair know that.
Whilst the duo blend their styles deftly, there are moments where their individual personalities dominate. Chill and sedate, A Goood Sign was a highlight on Eastgate’s 2015 record Inji but finds new life on Soft Hair, cooling down Mockasin’s steamy psychedelia. Conversely, if A Goood Sign embodies Eastgate’s signature sound then Alive Without Medicine is the yang to its yin. Creamy and intoxicating, with the same breathy vocal flourishes that drifted through his 2013 album Caramel, the track is Mockasin all over.
Tonally, Mockasin and Eastgate are at home within the realms of cheeky sensuality, save for an ominous death march-esque instrumental in the front half of the record. If there’s a narrative flowing through the album, though, it’s lost in the glittery melting pot of tongue-in-cheek lyricism, hedonistic pop, and avant-garde surrealism.
Listen to: Jealous Lies, Relaxed Lizard