Cincinnati post-hardcore crew Softspoken confront hardship head-on with their powerful new single, “Avalanche”.
Following from summer effort “Omni”, “Avalanche” captures the suffocating feeling of watching the walls coming down around you. Turning that pressure into fuel Softspoken emerge with searing breakdowns and a weighty percussive force, the track is rooted in perseverance and executed with the quintet's compelling blend of thoughtful lyricism and potent guitars.
Speaking on the story behind the new single, guitarist Chris Wethington shares: “‘Avalanche’ is a song about fighting your way through adversity. There are times when it feels like everything is crashing down; we’re on the slope, struggling hard to climb up the mountain, and we know that one small misstep could get us buried."
On the role of introspection and self-discovery, Wethington continues: “There’s importance in taking ownership of the circumstances we put ourselves in, embracing the struggle and finding a way through.”
Softspoken introduced themselves with debut single “Shorelines” in 2016 and have spent the subsequent decade working their way to international recognition, a worldwide fanbase and a 6-figure monthly listenership. Debut full-length Deaf Perception would debut in the Top 20 of Billboard’s Hard Rock Chart following its release in 2019 with Where The Heart Belongs EP following, before 2025’s Martyr ushered in the band’s latest chapter.
The quartet balance an emotional urgency and heaviness with soaring clean vocals, expansive melodies and a rich atmosphere that nods to the Ohio crew’s collation of influences, both sonically and culturally.
The creative seeds of Softspoken were sown in Japan, and the Land of The Rising Sun has shaped much of the band’s artistic output since. Japanese ideas including ikigai — the search for purpose or a reason for being — and kintsugi and finding beauty within imperfection, run throughout the new cycle’s themes and visual identity.
Arriving as Softspoken celebrate their tenth anniversary year, “Avalanche” reflects a decade of evolution and hard-earned perspective, manifesting as an unflinching refusal to be consumed by the weight when hardship and adversity presents itself.
