Softcult’s debut album, When a Flower Doesn’t Grow, was released on 30th January. I caught up with guitarist/vocalist Mercedes Arn-Horn to hear about their newest release, the inspiration behind it, and their recent UK tour.
Thanks for meeting with me! We’ve reviewed your music on LOUD WOMEN but I think this is your first interview, so would you mind introducing yourself and the band...
My name is Mercedes Arn-Horn and I am the lead singer and guitar player of Softcult, founded by Phoenix, my twin sibling, and me. I guess the two of us started the project in lockdown. We had a home studio and we were just writing music together, recording together. We’re a really DIY band, and I think that’s because of the circumstances then, we kind of had to be DIY, but also we wanted to have complete, full creative control over this project, and we wanted to really pour ourselves into every part of it. So, Phoenix is the producer and engineer on all the recordings and we also make the art together. I do all the videos and stuff, so we really try to do as much as we can.
I think a big part of that is also because fundamentally, even though the sound is really shoegazy and dreamy and grungy, we’re really inspired by the riot grrrl ethos. Like, we really wanted to make a shoegaze riot grrrl band, where we’re talking about feminism and gender equality, or just criticizing political and social institutions with our art. And that’s where we coined the term ‘riot gaze’, because it’s basically a shoegaze-riot riot grrrl hybrid band.
I love that. That’s such a perfect description of your sound as well, I really rate it. And I think you see so often bands sign to a label that really wants to soften their edges, so I really like respect you doing it all yourself. Do you find it challenging, or is it worth it to be able to keep full creative control?
It’s definitely worth it. Obviously, there are some things that make it a little difficult, like you don’t have as much funding or time. You know, when you’re doing a lot of different jobs it takes a lot of time to do all that and to make sure you do it all well. I think Phoenix and I kind of struggle… We always meet the deadline, but we’re always right up on the deadline. But that’s part of it and we do enjoy doing it ourselves, and it’s kind of become one of those things where, even though we now have the opportunity to branch out and have more people helping out, we prefer to just do it ourselves. I like that, even though it might not be perfect, it turns out it’s very authentic the way that we do it, so we’re always really happy with the end result.
So, you’ve been releasing for years but this is your first full album. Was that an intentional choice, or did it just take time to get to a space where you felt like you were ready for that?
Well, originally when we first started the plan was always to release EPs because we really wanted to be consistent with releasing music. We were in a band before that was actually signed to a major label, and it took forever to release music [because] everything was held back so long, even just releasing singles, as it had to pass through so many hands to get approved. I think that experience, in a way, was really frustrating for us, and really just felt very stifling, creatively. So, when we started this project, we just wanted to have the ability to put out music as frequently as we wanted to, and not have anything hold it back for months or years at a time so we liked the EP model because it’s like, okay, you can write, you can continue writing while you’re putting music out.
Since we were starting fresh with this band we [felt] like we needed to establish ourselves and an album, as we learned from this experience, is a lot of work to put together and it’s a big milestone in a band’s career. So, we wanted to just get out there, we wanted to tour, put music out, but we also didn’t feel ready to release an album yet. I feel like with every EP, we were kind of like sharpening the blade and honing our sound a little bit, you know?
I get that. So many bands will drop off for 2 or 3 years to do an album, and so much has changed by the time they come back. So, when I saw you in Manchester, you played ‘When a Flower Doesn’t Grow’, the title track from the new album, and it is stunning. You talked about it on stage and it sounds like quite a personal album, so I wondered if you could speak to the process and the inspiration behind it?
Yeah, absolutely. It was really personal. I mean, when we first started we were just compiling songs, like we always do, but we didn’t really have the concept down and we didn’t have any titles or names.
And then everything really changed around some personal shifts in our lives, and specifically for me. Something I was going through at the time of writing it was I was in a really long-term relationship of 10 years that was just, like, a straight cis relationship, and that’s kind of how I considered myself, or I guess outwardly how I presented myself to the world. But, while writing the album, I was also grappling with coming out as queer, and what that would mean for my life. I made the decision to end my relationship, and then I was processing a lot during that time.
I remember sitting on this couch and looking at my window that is full of plants, and I just felt at the time I was dealing with a lot of shame and guilt for ending my relationship and not really knowing what it meant for me. Then I was writing a song on my guitar, and I was looking at my plants, and I just felt the quote came to mind about when a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower. I wrote the song, ‘When a Flower Doesn’t Grow’, and I felt this wave of relief because I finally was able to give myself a little bit of grace and compassion in that moment. It’s like the realisation of you really had to change or I had to change the environment around me in order to grow and sort of become the person that I always felt I was meant to be inside.
When I shared the song with Phoenix they said we should make the album centred around this analogy, because it’s not just a personal one, it can also be applied to society, culture, you know, human rights in general, or leaving relationships and cycles that aren’t good for us. The whole album is basically about that, about breaking cycles, about starting from one place where you’re really naive, maybe getting taken advantage of and going through the wringer of the world and these oppressive pillars of power that we all have to put up with day to day, then when you go through that enough, eventually, I think everyone gets radicalised in one way or another. I think it’s poignant right now: everyone’s feeling a little bit radicalised by world events, then you find a way to empower yourself in the end.
I think people can relate to that. Did you find having this album, this band, and that outlet, helped you with that journey and that transition in your life?
Yeah, it really did. I think that we’re both extremely lucky to have the band as an outlet. It was really cathartic, and a great, healthy outlet for us during COVID. Sine then, any life event that’s happened, I feel like we’re able to process it and write about it in our music. It’s even helped us process things that happened long before that, you know, like these traumas that, if you were to keep it all to yourself, it would be quite damaging. But when you’re able to talk about it and write about it in music, it’s really cathartic and healing in a way, so I do think that that’s an important part of the band. I’m really grateful for that, because I know not everybody has that opportunity.
I think you can feel that as well, I think there is something really cathartic in your music and there’s something that everyone can kind of connect to. So, I did want to ask what your favourite track off the album is, but I feel like you might have already answered it.
Yeah, I mean, it’s tough because I love all the tracks. I will say, ‘When a Flower Doesn’t Grow’ as a track is really different from the other tracks, and it’s different for a Softcult song as well, but I think it’s gotta be that one. I just feel a very close, personal connection to that one.
Yeah, it’s a really beautiful song, I love it. So, I wanted to ask about your tour. You’ve recently been in the UK: Were there any highlights? Did you have any favourite cities?
As a Canadian band, getting to go to Europe and the UK is just a dream come true, and we all personally really connect with the culture, and especially with the UK music scene. It just feels like an honour to get to be a part of it in some way, because so many bands that we listen to are from the UK and are influencing our sound. So, yeah, it’s a dream come true. We really love every time we play in London or Manchester, those shows are always really good shows, and we got to play in Berlin for the first time which was a huge highlight as well. But yeah, it’s kind of a reward, because obviously we feel grateful to get to tour anywhere, but touring in North America is a real grind, then getting to go to a place that has so much culture, and so much beauty, and just such a vibrant scene, it feels like such a reward.
So, you said that some bands from the UK have inspired you. Do you have any particular bands that are of influence?
Yeah, I mean, this one is huge for a lot of people, but Radiohead was probably my first ever guitar band that really spoke to me. My Bloody Valentine obviously influences the sound so much and Cocteau Twins, they’re huge. I feel like they’re from Bristol or something like that. Yeah, I could list so many, a lot of really talented artists that sort of paved the way, you know?
So, last question: If someone has never listened to Softcult, what tracks do you think would give them the best intro?
Okay, I really think this one’s sleeper track, but I think ‘Haunt You Still’ is a good intro to the dreamy side of Softcult. ‘Spit It Out’ is a classic, I feel like I can tell when we play it, it’s just a fan favourite as well, it always has to stay in the set. I also feel really connected to ‘Heaven’, from our last EP, and let’s say ‘Uzumaki’, as well.
When a Flower Doesn’t Grow is out now.
Follow Softcult on softcult.band | spotify | bandcamp | youtube | instagram