motel void

Soft No first began to form in February of 2023 with a remote collaboration between Scott Signorino and Austin Lotz. They then brought in Allie Lannutti to compose the lyrics, vocal melodies, and bass parts, to which Jon Martello added drums and Kate Lowe keyboard and synth textures.

MOTEL VOID: The band members of Soft No have a long shared history. How has growing up and playing music together influenced the sound and dynamic of your debut EP?

SCOTT: Austin and I play together in another band so we already had a rapport, musically, from that. Allie, Kate, Jon and I are all from the same hometown and grew up going to the same shows and running in the same circle. I think knowing each other for a long time before ever playing music together eliminated a lot of that “first band practice awkwardness” that you get when you start a new musical project. It made the creative dynamic a lot more enjoyable because we all were friends first. Also, the stakes were pretty low, we didn’t take ourselves too seriously with the songwriting and found ourselves rarely saying “no” to any ideas which is why there are multiple chug parts and a breakdown.

ALLIE: I met Kate, Jon and Scott when I was about 17. Over the years, there were long stretches of time where I didn’t see them, especially not all together. Recently, we’ve really gotten to reconnect and catch up through this band, which is rad! Hanging with them all together again brings up nostalgia and memories from our past and I wanted to delve into that. So some of the subject matter of the songs, mostly Keeping Tabs and Faker, harkens back a place we all spent so much time in when we were younger but I really hadn’t thought of in a hot minute. They’re songs that remind me of the quiet streets of our hometown, and the hours we’d spend loitering around and just being a part of something, there was definitely a community there and we’ve kept in touch with a lot of people we met there which is awesome and pretty rare.

MOTEL VOID: Grief seems to be a powerful theme on the EP, especially in songs like “Descender”. Can you speak to how the personal losses of both Scott and Allie influenced the writing and recording of the album?

SCOTT: Allie can probably speak more directly to this from a songwriting perspective but, my dad died suddenly right as we were finishing the record. My usual response to stressors or depression or anxiety is to become hyper productive as a distraction, for better or worse. I guess throwing myself into the project management side of band stuff delayed acknowledging that loss for a time, and also forced myself to see my end of the project through.

ALLIE: I remember Scott sent me the first song when I was on vacation with my family a few months after my dad died from cancer. There was a feeling of trying to get back to normalcy but it was the first family trip we took without my dad, so it was definitely a strange feeling. That’s where my mind was when we started working on the songs. Descender deals with the denial and grief I was feeling in the months leading up to my dad’s death. The reality that I’d lose a parent was in the back of my mind for years, and I’d rationalize it and come to terms with it every day, almost to the point where I was weirdly ok with it because I had to be. I convinced myself everything was fine and pushed away the uncomfortable reality. During the daytime it was manageable, but in the middle of the night, when I couldn’t control my thoughts, it all came out and hit me like a ton of bricks. It’s a cycle of thinking you’re ok, and then realizing you absolutely are not, day to day, over and over again. I kept having this visualization, this half-dream of walking in the woods, descending a hill, and every time I thought I was out of the woods on a path towards acceptance, there was a sharp turn that lead me right back into the woods and it was even darker than before.

MOTEL VOID: The band has been a part of multiple music scenes, from hardcore to shoegaze. How have those different genres influenced your sound, and how do you balance those influences in your music?

SCOTT: When I pick up a musical instrument and play something in the context of rock music, someone will always say it “sounds really 90s.” I guess growing up in the nineties and loving bands like The Smashing Pumpkins, Veruca Salt, Placebo, Liz Phair, or The Cure and cozying that up with other stuff like Failure, Quicksand, Cave in, later Poison the Well, Deftones, or Glassjaw kind of informs how I approach the guitar. We all love a lot of different kinds of music and some of us are in other bands that could be considered shoegaze or hardcore or post punk and invariably those sounds will work their way into this

MOTEL VOID: Being based in Philadelphia, how would you describe the current indie music scene in the city? Do you feel a connection to it, and are there any local venues or artists that hold a special place for you?

SCOTT: Philadelphia is amazing! There is a really vibrant music scene here with awesome venues, DIY is thriving: house shows and new promotional collectives pop up and throw really cool shows pretty regularly. We’re seeing a lot of mixed bills happen which I love because those are the kinds of shows I grew up going to. We love spots like Kung Fu Necktie, Ortliebs, Silk City, Johnny Brenda’s, Nomad Supply Company and PhilaMOCA.
There are so many talented bands in Philly these days. Big shoutouts to Peroxide Blonde, ultra lite, hover, Cigarettes for Breakfast, Omit All, Farewell Days, Lose, you’re laughing, $500.

MOTEL VOID: Do you have any shows planned for the rest of the year?

SCOTT: We have hella shows booked for the rest of the year. Some are awaiting announcement but as of now:

9/14: record release party at Ortliebs, Philadelphia
10/11: Goth prom at National Sokols, Bethlehem
10/12: Upside, Lancaster
11/14: Gold Sounds, Brooklyn