Drew Daniel, performing as The Soft Pink Truth, unveils his newest album, “Can Such Delightful Times Go On Forever?” This work marks a significant evolution, moving away from his previous electronic soundscapes to embrace acoustic elements reminiscent of chamber music and film scores. The album serves as the concluding piece in a trio exploring themes of community and collective strength. It delves into profound sentiments, utilizing organic instrumentation and human artistry to articulate its vision, reflecting a conscious artistic choice to prioritize human connection in an era increasingly dominated by artificial intelligence.
The Soft Pink Truth project initially emerged as a playful challenge, aiming to disrupt established norms within the experimental dance music scene. Daniel's early works, such as 2003's “Do You Party?”, cleverly integrated funk, rap, and disco into glitch-techno, subverting conventional seriousness. His subsequent album, “Do You Want New Wave or Do You Want the Soft Pink Truth?”, audaciously reinterpreted punk anthems as electro-pop, bridging his past in hardcore music with his electronic present and recontextualizing the punk genre. A decade later, “Why Do the Heathen Rage?” continued this tradition, playfully deconstructing the rigid boundaries of black metal.
However, the project has experienced a notable shift towards a more hopeful and idealistic tone in recent years. The musical style has matured, shedding its earlier experimental, sometimes jarring characteristics for a rich blend of deep house and ambient influences. While artists like Moodymann, Matthew Herbert, and DJ Sprinkles are discernibly influential, Daniel's previous two albums—2020's “Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase?” and 2022's “Is It Going to Get Any Deeper Than This?”—also incorporate elements of chamber music, spiritual jazz, free improvisation, and classical minimalism. These works are imbued with a sense of shared respect and a potent message: the possibility of a better world.
His latest offering, “Can Such Delightful Times Go On Forever?”, introduces a subtle undercurrent of uncertainty, serving as the third part of a series examining the significance of collective spirit and unity, both in celebration and resistance. “Sinning” was conceived as a direct response to a previous political climate, drawing strength from the chosen family Daniel and his partner M.C. Schmidt have cultivated. “Deeper” was marked by its exuberant and sensual qualities. The new album, consistent with its predecessors, prioritizes live musicians over electronic instruments, but takes a further step by largely forsaking electronic motifs for a sound palette informed by chamber music and cinematic compositions. This shift is more than a formal exploration; it represents a deliberate statement, emphasizing human elements and relationships at a time when societal freedoms are increasingly threatened by evolving technologies.
This album reveals a dimension of Daniel's artistry rarely heard before. Tracks like “Mere Survival Is Not Enough” begin with an openly emotional tone, where sweeping romantic strings build and recede, revealing a lively melody suitable for a television drama. The mood then transitions to a more reflective state with “And By and By a Cloud Takes All Away,” which aligns more closely with the previous Soft Pink Truth releases. Here, rolling piano chords and ethereal vocals paint shifting forms, while pulsating saxophones pay homage to American minimalist traditions, and ascending, bending chords mimic the elegant glissandos of a harp. The sonic dimensions are in constant flux, with acoustic sounds seamlessly blending into and emerging from synthetic textures.
The album showcases Daniel's sophisticated compositional abilities on “Phrygian Ganymede,” a sprawling 10-minute piece. This track features clear, resonant harp and piano tones that abruptly freeze and break apart, leading into sharp, dissonant pizzicato passages and dramatic bowed strings. The latter half unfolds as a free-form sonic journey, characterized by rich woodwind textures and unsettling harmonies, evoking the artistic cinema experiences Daniel had during his upbringing.
While nearly two dozen musicians contribute to the album, individual contributions remain fluid, intentionally blended to create a unified tonal and textural tapestry of expansive, flowing sounds. However, this focus on acoustic elements gives the album a more direct and unadorned character compared to its predecessors. Listeners' reactions to this starkness may vary; for instance, the sharp, almost confrontational string arrangements in “Time Inside the Violet” might lead some to yearn for the immersive qualities of Daniel’s earlier work, the sensation of drifting through an intricate dream. Nevertheless, the new album offers its share of uplifting moments, such as “Orchard,” featuring Bill Orcutt's pastoral acoustic guitar, which evokes the dreamy, overwhelming sensory experiences found in certain classic albums. Ultimately, the album's primary goal doesn't seem to be unadulterated pleasure. True to his academic background, Daniel's approach often involves questioning and prompting reflection. “Can Such Delightful Times Go On Forever?” appears to be an earnest effort to push beyond his established artistic boundaries during a period of complex uncertainties.