Softcult is a Canadian

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

duo consisting of twin siblings Phoenix and Mercedes Arn-Horn. The duo are known for their melding of grunge with

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie rock, indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion (music), distortion and effects, a ...

, as well as their DIY and

riot grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington, and the greater Pacific Northwest, and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. A subcultural movement ...

-inspired ethics. The band's most recent EP, ''

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

'', was released on May 24, 2024.

History

Twin siblings Phoenix and Mercedes Arn-Horn (born 1994) grew up in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario, and were home-schooled by their mother, an English teacher. Prior to forming Softcult, the Arn-Horn siblings were members of the

pop-punk Pop-punk (also punk-pop, alternatively spelled without the hyphen) is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop music, pop. It is defined by its fast-paced, energetic tempos, and emphasis on classic pop s ...

band

Courage My Love Courage My Love was a Canadian rock band from Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Formed in 2009 the band consisted of twin siblings Mercedes Arn-Horn and Phoenix Arn-Horn in addition to bassist Brandon Lockwood. History The group was discovered at a ba ...

, which released several EPs and two studio albums throughout the 2010s. Feeling creatively stifled by their record label, the Arn-Horn siblings decided to disband Courage My Love and begin a new project together in the summer of 2020. The band chose the name "Softcult", which Mercedes Arn-Horn defined as "anything that you don’t really question where you follow your group of people", to represent the band's "social commentary". The band's debut single, "Another Bish", was released on January 15, 2021. On April 16, 2021, Softcult released their first EP, '' Year of the Rat'', through Easy Life Records. The duo's second EP, ''Year of the Snake'', "encompasses our feelings towards the cutthroat capitalist society we live in and the problems that need to be addressed". One of the EP's songs, "B.W.B.B.", was written in response to the

murder of Sarah Everard On the evening of 3 March 2021, 33-year-old Sarah Everard was kidnapped in South London, England, as she was walking home to the Brixton Hill area from a friend's house near Clapham Common. She was stopped by off-duty Metropolitan Police consta ...

in March 2021. Their third EP, '' See You in the Dark'', was released on March 24, 2023, and was inspired by My Bloody Valentine and the

Cocteau Twins Cocteau Twins were a Scottish rock music, rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth on the Firth of Forth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981. In 19 ...

. The EP received a

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

nomination for

Alternative Album of the Year Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an alternative to mainstream superh ...

award at the

Juno Awards of 2024 The Juno Awards of 2024 were held on 24 March 2024, at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to honour achievements in Canadian music in 2023. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year determine ...

. On May 24, 2024, the band released their fourth EP, ''

''. On April 25, 2025, the band released the single "Pill To Swallow" ahead of their first full-length album.

Musical style and influences

Softcult have been described as

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate stylistic ch ...

and

. The Arn-Horn siblings were inspired by the 1990s

culture, and have cited

Bikini Kill Bikini Kill is an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington, in October 1990. The group originally consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band pio ...

Bratmobile Bratmobile is an American punk band from Olympia, Washington, formed in 1991. They are known for being one of the first-generation "riot grrrl" bands. The band was influenced by several eclectic musical styles, including elements of pop, surf ...

and

Pussy Riot Pussy Riot is a Feminism in Russia, Russian feminist protest and performance art group based in Moscow that became popular for its provocative punk rock music which later turned into a more accessible style. Founded in the fall of 2011 by the th ...

as formative influences on the band. They cited My Bloody Valentine's ''

Loveless Loveless may refer to: Comics and literature * Loveless (comics), ''Loveless'' (comics), a comic book series by Brian Azzarello, Marcelo Frusin, Danijel Zezelj, and Werther Dell'Edera * Loveless (manga), ''Loveless'' (manga), a manga series by Y ...

'' (1991),

Slowdive Slowdive (stylized in lowercase) are an English people, English rock band that formed in Reading, Berkshire, in 1989. The band consists of Neil Halstead (vocals, guitars), Rachel Goswell (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Christian Savill (guitars) ...

's ''

Souvlaki Souvlaki (, , ; plural: , ) is a Greek food item consisting of small pieces of meat and sometimes vegetables grilled on a skewer. It is usually eaten straight off the skewer while still hot. It can be served with or inside a rolled pita, typica ...

'' (1993),

Swervedriver Swervedriver are an English alternative rock band formed in Oxford in 1989 around core members Adam Franklin and Jimmy Hartridge. Between 1989 and 1998, the band released four studio albums and numerous EPs and singles despite a considerable ...

's '' Mezcal Head'' (1993) and

Deftones Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by frontman Chino Moreno, lead guitarist Stephen Carpenter and drummer Abe Cunningham, with bassist Chi Cheng and keyboardist and tu ...

' ''

White Pony ''White Pony'' is the third studio album by the American alternative metal band Deftones, released on June 20, 2000, through Maverick Records. It was produced by Terry Date, who produced the band's first two albums, ''Adrenaline'' (1995) and ' ...

'' (2000) as influences on their fourth EP ''Heaven''. Since February 2021, Softcult has published a monthly zine, ''SCripture.'' which discusses environmental, social and political issues. The zine was directly inspired by 1990s riot grrrl culture, and features a black-and-white aesthetic inspired by

Raymond Pettibon Raymond Pettibon (born Raymond Ginn, June 16, 1957) is an American artist who lives and works in New York City. Pettibon came to prominence in the early 1980s in the southern California punk rock scene, creating posters and album art mainly for g ...

. Phoenix says that the zine "kind of einforcesthe message behind

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

songs."

Band members

* Mercedes Arn-Horn – vocals, guitar * Phoenix Arn-Horn – vocals, drums,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

Touring members * Brent McSwiggan – lead guitar (2022–present) * Phil Hirst – bass (2023–present) * Oliver Burdett – bass (2022–2023)

Discography

Compilation albums

Live albums

EPs

Singles

Notes

References

{{Softcult Canadian grunge groups Canadian shoegaze musical groups Musical groups established in 2020 Musical groups from Kitchener, Ontario Female-fronted musical groups Twin musical duos 2020 establishments in Ontario