Soft Focus – “Welcome Back” (Stereogum Premiere)
Last fall we brought you the first public Soft Focus song, “Skating Rink,” and offered a primer on project mastermind Dustin White’s illustrious musical background prior to settling in Marfa, Texas. Now White has decamped to LA to assemble a touring band for the summer, and he’s about to release a second single, “Welcome Back,” through the experimental pop label Manimal Vinyl (Warpaint, Bat For Lashes, Heliotropes, etc.). Despite lingering vestiges of static, this one renders White’s mirage-like clatter in crisp clarity. The resulting psych-pop monolith is harmonious, hallucinogenic, harrowing, heavy, heavenly. Let it wash over you below.