Austin Sound

Soft Healer can be somewhat deceptive. At their core, the local quartet lays down swanky, retro R&B and soul grooves, bronzed by indelible bass lines and subtly throbbing beats, and punctuated by sharp guitar jolts and smooth sax. The sultry and swaying vocals of Marie Butcher tie it all together, bending like smoke through the barroom and rising in powerful sweeps that falls between Dusty Springfield and Cat Power. Yet atop their underlying pop touch, the band can also turn intimidating psychedelic flourishes with a cathartic edge, which helps account for their bill this Friday at Emo’s with local psych droners Headdress and L.A.’s Pocahaunted. Soft Healer released their debut 7″ earlier this year on Captured Tracks, from which you can download “Gentle One” below, and will have a 10″ one-sider coming out on Monofonus later this summer. Expect their debut LP from Captured Tracks soon as well, but catch them first this Friday, June 25th, at Emo’s.

(Photo by Sarah Murphy via)

Profile: Soft Healer

Year Formed:

Started playing shows in 2009, last summer

Members/Instruments played:

Marie Butcher - bass, singing

Will Slack - guitar

Sara Berger - organ, tenor sax, singing

Nick Decarmine - Drums

Former Bands/Side Projects:

recently - Pillow Queens, Shitheads on Dynamite

Albums:

Gentle One 7″ out on Captured Tracks. One-sider coming soon on Monofonus Press, then an LP on Captured Tracks later on.

Influences:

John Lee Hooker, Horace Andy, Can, ESG, and a lot of other bands.

West Texas

Favorite local bands:

Yellow Fever, Storm Shelter, Silent Diane, Ralph White, Sleep Over, Expensive Shit, Pure Ecstasy, Bear Claw, Pataphysics, Hatchet Wound

Favorite local venue:

House party

Upcoming shows scheduled:

Friday, June 25th @ Emo’s w/ Pocahaunted and Headdress

Shows over the next month that you’re excited to see:

Pocahaunted and Headdress (and not just because we’re playing)

Some of your favorite albums from the past year:

off the top of the head…

Sun Araw “Heavy Deeds”

Group Bombino and Group Doueh albums on Sublime Frequencies

Grass Widow “S/T”

Explode into Colors 45’s

Silent Diane 45

Ralph White “Mongrel’s Hoard”

Ideal band (past or present) to open for on a national tour:

FUNKADELIC

Austin Sound questions:

What is the softest kind of healing?

Healing Touch.

Asada Tortas.

What can y’all tell us about the upcoming Monofonus release?

It’s pretty much recorded. Just two songs, but one is a long freakout, so there’s still plenty of time for a beer before changing records.

Song Introduction:

“Gentle One” - This is one of those songs written by a guitar pedal more than a person. The pedal in this case was a big muff. Stare at a loved one or pet or something nice and blink to the beat while listening to the song.

Sound Off:

Listen to EVERYTHING. Learn an instrument and start playing it for people immediately, but don’t think that should mean you stop learning. Learn to SHRED! Buy tons of records and start a band.

Mp3:
Gentle One

Websites:
Myspace