For a band whose lineup has only really been cemented this year, The Soft Pack – formerly known as the Muslims – have already accomplished a breathtaking amount. Born and bred in San Diego but currently based in LA, the quartet, which features Matt Lamkin on vocals, co-founder Matty McLoughlin on guitar, David Lantzman on bass and Brian Hill on drums, create a fresh, razor-sharp, no-frills sound that draws in influences from acts as varied as the Stooges, Jonathan Richman, Wire and The Velvet Underground, resulting in fiercely infectious, stripped-down songs which have eagle-eyed A&R types and critics alike falling over themselves with praise. Proof that the band have well and truly arrived was their frenzied reception at this year’s CMJ, as they played 11 packed out shows at a range of venues, from intimate places like Pianos and Don Pedro’s to larger venues like Williamsburg Music Hall and the Bowery Ballroom. Adulatory pieces in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, Fader and Billboard quickly followed suit, as did hotly coveted support slots with the likes of the Last Shadow Puppets and the Breeders this fall. In addition, their untitled 12-inch debut EP (which came in one of a kind jackets with bullet holes shot through by the father of a friend, a former NYC cop) sold out almost immediately and is being re-pressed this year, complete with brand new tracks, hand typed inserts and silk screened sleeves. And excitingly enough, the UK will get their first blast of the Soft Pack’s potent rock and roll when their double A-side, “Nightlife/Bright Side” is released through Caspian Records in February 2009, with their debut UK shows to follow; the very first of which, in fact, is for the famed NME Brats. The perfect opportunity to listen to these perfectly formed mini-classics in waiting and get acquainted with the sound of the Soft Pack before the rest of the world inevitably does...