Civil Society are proud to announce the return to Australia of The Soft Pack. After a whirlwind tour earlier this year, and a steady string of shows through the US since, California’s The Soft Pack are set to bring their raw, stripped back sound back to Australia for two headline shows with huge line-ups, in addition to appearances at the Falls, Southbound, and Sunset Sounds festivals. Supporting the band with be retrp-pop darlings Deep Sea Arcade in Sydney, and local supergroup Boomgates in Melbourne (featuring members of Dick Diver, The Twerps, Teen Archer and Eddy Current Suppression Ring). Joining them at both shows will also be fresh Gold Coast upstarts Bleeding Knees Club.

The brainchild of two obsessive music fans both named Matt, Matt Lamkin and Matty McLoughlin , The Soft Pack have quickly become one of the buzz bands of 2010. “We wanted to start a band that played simple, catchy, smart rock songs,” says Matt. “There weren’t many bands in San Diego doing that at the time. So we did.”

Early on in the group’s development, Matt and Matty honed their sound into a sparse yet fiery mix of guitars, drums, base and Matt’s pokerfaced singing style. Just in time for CMJ 2008, the pair recruited Dave Lantzman (bass) and Brian Hill (drums), and the new incarnation played a raucous 11 shows as part of the festival.

Shedding their somewhat-controversial “The Muslims” moniker, that had unintentionally become a distraction, the group changed their name to The Soft Pack in December 2008. Despite the name change, the group continued their prolific rise with releases of mp3s, sell-out vinyl singles and EPs, viral videos, and scoring appearances on Letterman in the process.

Civil Society is thrilled to welcome The Soft Pack back for their second trip to our shores this year. Their brand of stripped back garage rock will have them reeling in the crowds this summer, as well as pleasing their already bourgeoning fan base. Don’t miss out on your chance to see rock at its stripped back best.