Coming two decades after their last album,
Holiday in Rhode Island
,
The Bed I Made
exceeds the wildest dreams and loftiest expectations any
Softies
fan might have had when they heard that
Rose Melberg
and
Jen Sbragia
were getting the band back together. It's both a comforting bit of time travel and exactly the kind of deeply felt, precisely played, and warmly cocooned record that anyone tired of the overwhelming blare of plastic pop needs. Built around chiming guitars, sunshine-dappled melodies, and still-breathtaking harmonies, the album delves into strong stuff like the pull of the past, the glory and disaster of love, and the loss of important people in their lives. Both
Melberg
Sbragia
sound like they've been storing up some top-notch songs, and the record is full of moments that can cause the listener to stop whatever they might be doing and really listen. Try to do the dishes while the soaring harmonies of "Foot Path" lift off into the blue skies or sort your laundry as the duo sing sounds so sad it's amazing they were able to get them on tape ("California Highway 99"), and one will soon find that it's a losing cause. It's rare that a record this intimate and simple -- they still stick to just two electric guitars and their heavenly voices -- can connect so deeply. Despite sticking to the same basic template they established so perfectly in the past, the pair show off some new tricks like adding
Felt
-esque guitar filigrees to many of the songs, adding a touch more reverb to the mix, expanding the vocal harmonies by doubling their voices, and generally coming across more mature without losing any of the unprotected emotional tenderness of youth. It can't have been easy for them to go back to the past like this while still making something that sounds vital and up-to-the-minute, especially when the early
records are so treasured by so many people. The effort proves well worth it, and
is easily the equal of any of their earlier work. It should make old fans very happy, while giving anyone lucky enough to come across the record a chance to discover that one of the best bands to come out of the indie rock scene of the 1990s is now one of the best bands of the 2020s too. ~ Tim Sendra