Playing smart but simple rock that harks back to ‘60s garage, ‘70s punk, and ‘80s college rock, the Soft Pack feature vocalist/guitarist Matt Lamkin, guitarist Matty McLoughlin, bassist Dave Lantzman, and drummer Brian Hill. The band formed in San Diego in 2008, when Lamkin and McLoughlin decided to fill the void of straightforward, catchy rock bands in their town. At first, they called themselves the Muslims, and even released two October 2008 singles, Parasites/Walking with Jesus on I Hate Rock n’ Roll and Extinction/My Flash on You on Sweet Tooth Records, under that moniker. However, negative and ignorant comments about the name prompted them to change it to the Soft Pack. Their first release under that name, the Nightlife/Bright Side single, appeared in March 2009, as did the Muslims EP, which gathered the tracks from their previous singles as well as some new songs that also later appeared on May 2009’s Extinction single. Around that time the Soft Pack -- who now called Los Angeles home -- began recording their debut album with producer Eli Janney. The Soft Pack was released by Kemado in early 2010. The band returned two years later with Strapped, a more expansive and subdued set of songs. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi