Souls She Said - Rub The Sleep Out (Cover Artwork)
Staff Review

Souls She Said

Rub The Sleep Out (2003)

Buddyhead


Souls She Said's a sideproject featuring members of The Icarus Line and Ink & Dagger. They play fuzzed out rock and roll school on bands like Television and the Velvet Underground. While that description may lead one to classify them as part of the garage rock revival, Souls She Said seems far more concerned with combining jangling Jam grooves and Hüsker Dü styled distortion with a bit of Sonic Youth than they are with writing anything with much pop appeal. This is far, far more ethereal than anything the Strokes (or like-influenced bands) are releasing.

That's not to say that the songs on this EP are hookless either, there's a lot of really catchy, interesting moments on Rub The Sleep Out. It took a few listens but there's a lot to like buried in teh mix here. Joe Cardamone's singing is far more paced and subdued here, so anyone expecting his shill yelp from some of the Icarus Line's harder tracks may come away disappointed. Ink & Dagger guitarist Don Devore is absolutely superb and his dynamic playing really stands out at a high point of the record.

Rub The Sleep Out's really a fine little side-project that has wider appeal than just die-hard fans. I'm curious to see if this band records again, because there's a ton of potential here to expand on. Fans of any of the aforementioned bands will want to seek this out.