HiSoft: Amateur
Chocolate Hearts

Calling a recording Amateur means HiSoft must be either supremely confident in its material or reckless if not naïve, considering the critical bait such titles provide. Luckily for group mastermind Gerhardt Koerner (Lilys, The Low Numbers), the EP's solid quintet of tunes goes down so smoothly, he could name the disc virtually anything and emerge unscathed. Originating out of Philadelphia with Koerner abetted by other former Lilys members, HiSoft's dreamy sound is classic pop of such timeless vintage it extends as far back as The Byrds; one almost expects Roger McGuinn's “Turn, Turn, Turn” vocal (“To everything / There is a season…”) to appear after the opening bars of “Soft Rock” kick in, for heaven's sake. Here and elsewhere HiSoft's lush vocal harmonies float breezily over chiming guitars that occasionally swell to a shoegaze roar. Though one also hears traces of The Beach Boys (the lush counterpoint gracing tunes like “West Coast Keith”) New Order (the oft-present lead bass lines), and Dwight Twilley (the classic rock songwriting), HiSoft distills those influences into a sweet and thoroughly appealing sound all its own; it's more than a little easy to fall in love with material as lovely as “Continental Luck” and “Country.”

December 2005