Last year was the first year since 2021 that grungy dream-pop duo Sofcult didn’t release an EP, though by the end of 2025 it had become apparent why: the twin duo of Mercedes and Phoenix Arn-Horn announced that their debut full-length, When a Flower Doesn’t Grow, would be released in January 2026. As with their prior material, the singles that have trickled out since then have found a balance somewhere between the siblings’ prior chapter leading the pop-punk group Courage My Love throughout the 2010s and the gravitational pull shoegaze has had on so much of alt-rock in the 2020s.
It may not be surprising, then, to see bands like Deftones and Failure populating the duo’s influences playlist for their debut, nor are picks like Mannequin Pussy or Gouge Away unexpected—punk peers pushing beyond the boundaries of aggressive music into the mainstream. Perhaps less expected, though, are the softer artists like folk songwriter Adrianne Lenker and dream-pop siren Tamaryn, who speak to the softer edges explored in Softcult’s music. While talking us through a handful of their key inspirations presented to us below, Phoenix even alludes to Matthew Caws’ conversational vocal delivery in the breezy power-pop of Nada Surf.
Before When a Flower Doesn’t Grow drops tomorrow via Easy Life Records, check out their full playlist, as well as Phoenix’s commentary on a few standouts, below.
Deftones, “Sextape”
Like so many guitar bands these days, we’ve been very inspired by Deftones. They dance on the line between shoegaze and post-rock in a really unique way—even their heaviest songs always have an ethereal quality to them. The melodies Chino goes to over Stephen’s chord choices are absolutely beautiful and menacing at the same time. It’s a vibe that’s not easy to replicate, but we love to try.
Fugazi, “Smallpox Champion”
Fugazi are a really special band to us. They’re the blueprint for discipline and morality in the alternative music space the way they’ve carried themselves throughout their career, rejecting the norms of what a band is “supposed to do” and staying true to their ethics is absolutely inspiring to us. Lyrically, they never shy away from the point, but still find ways of saying it poetically. Anytime I put on a Fugazi song I can’t help but feel flooded with emotion, and it always makes me want to sit down and write something.
Nada Surf, “Popular”
We definitely took a lot of inspo from this song when we were writing “She Said, He Said.” We’d never really tried incorporating spoken word in a song before, but the way the verses are more free-flowing instead of being locked to the beat, it feels like a conversation. I think it’s a super effective way of telling a story. While allegories and metaphors have their place in lyrics, I think there’s something really impactful about just getting to the point and laying it bare without dancing around it.
Mannequin Pussy, “Sometimes”
We got the opportunity to tour with MP a couple years ago, and watching them every night for the better part of two months 100 percent inspired many songs on our album. Missy channels something so fierce and true on stage. For real, they’re probably one of the most important bands out there right now—they’re going to be inspiring a lot of music to come.
