Nearly everyone remembers the moment when their hearts broke for the first time. But there are those who never seem to be able to live it down; they're stuck in that moment, unable to achieve escape velocity from an emotional black hole. Some such people cling desperately to anyone who passes by in the hopes that they can be pulled out; others wallow, becoming permanently embittered and cynical. And then there are those who learn to live comfortably in that moment, even going so far as to do a little interior decorating-- matching drapes, throw rugs, comfy chairs, and the like. You can probably guess which category the Softies fall into.
For five years and four albums now, Rose Melberg and Jen Sbragia of the Softies have remained ensconced firmly in their sweet, sad little universe; with just two guitars and two voices (not counting the occasional xylophone or piano overdub), they've taken a setup that would otherwise be used for Indigo Girls-style coffeehouse-folk evil and spun dreamily melancholy indie-pop songs from it
Holiday in Rhode Island isn't exactly an ambitious artistic leap forward from their previous albums, but so what? As far as rainy Sunday morning hangover listening goes, it fits the bill perfectly. On top of a bed of willowy guitars, Melberg and Sbragia exhale cherry blossoms with every cooing sigh. Generous amounts of reverb slathered over every sound ensures that nothing hits harder than a hail of cottonballs, not even the drums that tiptoe their way through "Me and the Bees."
But the Softies temper all this precious prettiness from the very outset; the first lyrics you hear on Holiday in Rhode Island are, "If I beg you will you smother me / Just to put me out of this constant misery," followed by lines like, "I wish I had never known/ A heart that beats just like my own"; "Take it downstairs/ No one here cares"; and "Now my empty arms are of no use to anyone." The combination of happy melodies and sad lyrics is by no means an innovation, but lesser bands often get the balance between the two wrong, ending up sounding either coy or overwrought. The Softies take a page from the Magnetic Fields' fakebook and sing as straight and as dispassionately as possible, and it works, lending an emotional authenticity to otherwise undistinguished lyrics.
Despite the sameness of instrumentation and mood, though, the songs don't all sound alike; the Softies aren't repetitive so much as consistent. Not all the songs here are about heartbreak or depression, either; the title track and "You and Only You" express the inverse-- love gained rather than lost. Is it any surprise that they sound much the same as the other songs on Holiday in Rhode Island? Perhaps the Softies understand that there actually isn't much of a difference between the feelings of falling into and out of love. It's still a sensation of falling, except on Holiday in Rhode Island it feels more like floating. And as much as the word "nice" is overused, it's quite nice. Just like the Softies themselves. Nice.
