Soft No

Soft No -Oxford Street single

Release date: March 19th 2026

Artist Information

Label: Abandon Everything Records
Genre: Post Punk / Alternative
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
RIYL: Wednesday, Momma, Veruca Salt, Sonic Youth

Biography

Soft No did something a little unconventional on its forthcoming EP, Super Neutral. After releasing a well-received debut EP, the Philly, PA-based, genre-blurring indie quintet decided to approach its next batch of songs drastically differently than its first.

Collaborative writing sessions and a bold decision to place its foot on the BPM accelerator yielded a five-song collection that’s something of a sonic reinvention. Super Neutral, out on local Philly indie, Abandon Everything Records, is an emotive onslaught of serrated alt-rock guitars, punk rock aggression, post-hardcore jaggedness, hypnotic post-punk grooves, emo hookiness, and atmospheric synth soundscapes. The urgently anthemic single “Oxford St.” will seed the path to Super Neutral.

“We did our due diligence to not overly critique these songs. We tapped into everyone’s tastes, and let the music come out naturally,” says lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist Austin Lotz. “Everybody is more present on this EP,” affirms rhythm guitarist Scott Signorino.

Since forming in late 2022, Soft No has built an impressive momentum, releasing a debut EP praised by outlets like New Noise and Under the Radar, and playing nearly 30 shows in its first year. Throughout, Soft No has sagely played immediate markets that surround Philly, generating an absence-makes-the-heart-grow-fonder appeal back home.

Soft No is Allison Lannutti, lead vocals and bass; Scott Signorino, rhythm guitar; Austin Lotz, lead guitar and co-lead vocals; Kate Lowe, keys, piano, and synthesizer; and Jonathan Martello, drums and percussion. The group’s curious name, as Lowe explains, comes from the adult way of nicely saying you can’t do something.

Talking shop with the members of Soft No, bands such as The Promise Ring, The Cure, Quicksand, The Anniversary, Rainer Maria, The Breeders, Drug Church, Explosions In The Sky, and The Joy Formidable come up, but Soft No ultimately sounds like none of these acts. Each member brings a piece of their unique musical background interlocking into an edgy but ethereal Soft No aesthetic.

Its new EP, Super Neutral, a name Lannutti says is derived from keeping the peace with family members around holidays in this politically-charged climate, is anything but placid. It’s an emotionally cathartic and musically adventurous collection of songs that showcase an artistically assured band stepping forward from its shoegaze comfort zone into a sensibility that can’t be contained by a couple of hyphens.

“If you listen to our last EP, which I love, it featured some of the first songs I wrote on guitar. The way it came out sounding wasn’t intentional,” Signorino reveals. The resulting self-titled EP’s shoegaze sensibility was epitomized by shimmery reverb, delay, and gauzy effect that were more of a reflection of Signorino finding his way on the instrument than any allegiance to a genre. He continues: “Since then, we toured, got to know each other better, and, to me, became influenced by the bands we played with.”

Both EPs are extensions of Soft No, but the band has currently arrived at an aggressive sound lavished with textural keyboards. Lannutti pushed for this high-energy approach. “I come from the shoegaze world, but I was restless with that and wanted to do something more fun and punky,” she says. Lowe adds: “I was worried the sound would change too much, but we figured out a way to keep those emotive instrumental passages and integrate ethereal sounds into the punky stuff.”

Upcoming single Oxford Street has a tuneful, arty urgency that recalls the early 2000s wave of emo bands such as The Promise Ring, The Get Up Kids, and The Anniversary. “Oxford Street” boasts richly-layered synth textures, urgently expressive vocals, strangled melodic guitar parts, and a pop song format.

Drummer Jonathan Martello wrote the music to the song which took Lannutti out of her comfort zone, and brought forth a very personal story. “I don’t usually write about specific events in my life, but I’d been wanting to write a song for years about a crazy night out, and the subsequent morning I had with a friend who passed away,” she says. “I had the song title picked, but never felt like I had the right outlet for the song until now.” Lannutti’s words here exude a literate flair and emotional directness. One standout passage is: Saw you on the street last night/A blurry halo of orange light/And I can’t see straight but I remember/You said I could do so much better.

For tracking, Soft No returned to Headroom Studios in Clifton Heights, PA to record with Mark Watter (Drug Church, Lizdelise), but one big difference from the last EP is that the band also did a lot of pre-production working with John Lowe (Omit All, husband of keyboardist Kate) and the band’s good friend Jesse Pastore.

Upcoming Shows

May 30th // Philadelphia, PA // Spellbound Studios
August 13th // New York, NY // Nightclub 101
August 14th // Montréal, Canada // Turo Haus
August 15th // Toronto, ON // Monarch Tavern
August 16th // Scranton, PA // The Dungeon

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