Sydney’s Soft Covers snuck out a six song cassette EP in August, but it only came onto the Poplib radar in December, thanks to a tip off from Dumb Things. We love Dumb Things here at PopLib, so when Dumb Things say “some of us are also in Soft Covers” that’s all we need to listen. Here’s “Grow”:

No idea who is in Soft Covers, because such information is not revealed. But it is certainly Dumb Things-adjacent, having that unmistakable Australian ambling guitar pop charm, constructed of simple but enduring ingredients (guitar, bass, drum, voices and the occasional extravagance of a reedy keyboard melody). Soft Covers promise “homemade and well-loved pop, taken out of the oven a little too early and left out on the line a little too long” and deliver on that promise.

“Grow” with it’s plaintive “why won’t you grow, to something worthwhile?” is either about a plant or, more likely, a person of interest. Doesn’t matter either way, it’s a perfect simple song. There are 5 more of them on the EP.