Five tracks. Twenty-one minutes and 19 seconds. That’s all HiSoft is offering you. Is it sheer confidence in knowing you’ll eat up the five songs on their debut EP? Or is the band declaring that they are, in fact, as the EP’s title suggests, Amateur? Either way, take them up on that offer. The first official taste of this band is short, but it’s pretty damn sweet.
Flowing melodies and wafting vocals, both courtesy of singer/guitarist Gerhardt Koerner, are what you first notice about Philadelphia-based HiSoft. Listen closer for smooth bass lines that subtly anchor each song. Laid-back beats round out the band’s overall mellow feel. Or, just call it what they call it: “Art rock you can make out to.”
HiSoft’s current lineup was intact for only a few months before they inked a deal with Chocolate Hearts last October. Now, amid steady gigs at Philly’s Khyber Pass and North Star, HiSoft is giving new meaning to the term “multi-task.” Koerner just finished a long and successful run as a sideman with the Lilys, and he’s the band’s sole songwriter. Drummer Jason Kourkounis and guitarist Don Devore have a hell of a commute to their separate California-based bands, and bassist Jesse Trbovich has only HiSoft on his plate, but we’re guessing he’s cool with that.
HiSoft are gearing up to record their full-length album, and plan to be touring nationally by late spring. The album will likely include two tracks from Amateur — the lulling “West Coast Keith,” with its comfy tempo and soothing “ahhs,” is a solid candidate — plus ten new ones. Get ready for a lot more music to make out to.
