In February 2014 Softengine won the right to represent Finland at Eurovision — and it’s been upwards ever since. Their debut album We Created The World included the amazing singles “Yellow House” and “The Sirens“, leading to a Finnish Grammy nomination earlier this year.
The momentum continued in 2015 as Topi, Ossi, Henri and Tuomo — who now live together in Helsinki — set to recording in their home studio. Last week they released a first taste with their new EP From Earth, From Ashes, From Dust. They’ll drop the whole album next spring. You can listen to five-track EP on Spotify by clicking here.
Softengine – From Earth, From Ashes, From Dust review
The EP includes two singles that Softies will already know: “Big Fat Bass Drums” and “All About You & I“.
“Big Fat Bass Drums” is the perfect opener for the record, showing off the band’s funky and uptempo side. “All About You & I” — the first single from the EP — covers familiar ground as the band explore how burgeoning love drives us forward. The two songs — easily the most radio-friendly tracks of the five — make a great start for the EP.
But they’re totally different from what follows. “Raise a Glass”, the first new song, gets the blood pumping and will no doubt have the crowds dancing. The chorus is specially designed for a live audience — we can already hear everyone screaming “raise a glass to us!” It channels a summer festival vibe and already has us looking forward to next summer.
The fourth track is “Grateful“. It’s the most touching song of the five and really shows off Topi’s amazing vocals. The song’s message is simple and pure: everyone should be grateful for the basic stuff they have, like fresh water. They’re firm believers that music can have an emotional — and social — impact.
The fifth and final track is “Golden Years“. Like “Grateful”, the song is about gratitude — in this instance, gratitude for the time you have now, as it passes more quickly than you expect. It’s accurate for the boys. Right now they’re touring the world and living on hype, but they recognise it could end in an instant: “Let’s keep this moment in our hearts, life’s one hell of a ride, and these are the golden years“.
From Earth, From Ashes, From Dust is a nice sample of their second album and it’s making us hungry for more. From slow ballads to dance tracks, Softengine isn’t afraid to mix and mash genres. The result is fresh, modern and anything but disposable.
