Gabriola Island’s Dead Soft harness the power of the bummer. The indie-punk three-piece have all the downer emotionality of grunge and ’90s alternative, but still manage to sound loud and effective rather than listless. Their choruses hit hard, even if their verses often feel subdued — a tactic used successfully by bands like Weezer and Microwave. Now, with their debut LP Big Blue on the way, the band seem poised to stake their claim in the indie scene. The band’s latest video, Step Out, feels like Dead Soft distilled. Shot with vintage camera filters using clunky zooms and stark lighting, the video embraces a classic low-budget horror movie aesthetic, right down to the too-red blood. You get it all — an old summer camp, bodies...
