We didn’t have to look far for this one. Soft Science has spent more than a decade shaping dream pop in Sacramento, and it’s good to see a band from so close to our hometown of Davis, CA turning up in our inbox.
Soft Science is built around Katie Haley (vocals, percussion), Matt Levine (lead guitar), Ross Levine (guitar, backing vocals), Tony Cale (drums), Becky Cale (bass, backing vocals) and Hans Munz (electronics). Over four albums and more than ten years, the group has refined a sound built on layered twelve string guitars, ethereal vocals and synth textures, recording sessions for KEXP and WFMU and playing festivals including New York Popfest and Paris Popfest along the way. Their catalog runs from Highs and Lows (2011) through Detour (2013), Maps (2018) and Lines (2023).
“Understand” is the second single from the band’s fifth album, Sand, due September 4 via Shelflife Records in North America and Spinout Nuggets in the UK. It follows lead single “Spinning,” whose video (directed by Matthew Maxwell) captured the frustration of a relationship stuck on repeat. Where “Spinning” pushed forward, “Understand” settles into something calmer, pairing shimmering guitars with a message closer to reassurance than tension.
Haley has said the song grew out of raising teenage children, describing it in press materials as encouragement for anyone working through something hard. Guitarist Ross Levine, who built the chorus melody with Haley, said in the same materials that the band tried to avoid the obvious chord change, aiming for a little more freshness while staying solidly pop. What comes through is a song about patience, the kind that trusts a hard stretch will eventually make sense.
Across Sand’s ten tracks, Soft Science explores memory, love and how relationships shift under pressure, working with the same twin guitar, synth and rhythm section approach that’s defined the band since Highs and Lows. “Understand” is available now on Bandcamp, Spotify and Apple Music, with the full album arriving on CD and vinyl in September.
Learn More
Soft Science’s website
“Understand” on Bandcamp
Soft Science on Instagram
Shelflife Records on Instagram
Photo credit: Chantel Elder.
