Softklub Turn Emotional Overload into Cathartic Indie Rock on Debut, Give Me More EP
Edmonton, AB-based indie duo Softklub (Keenan Gregory and Mark Wojcicki) share their debut EP Give Me More, released alongside its emotionally charged title track. Blending melancholic indie rock with cathartic release, layered instrumentation, and deeply introspective songwriting, the EP’s five songs capture the complicated emotional terrain of longing, self-reflection, insecurity, and memory.
“This selection of songs feels more tightly knit to each other than anything else we’ve written,” Keenan explains. “Not only do their themes bleed into one another, but multiple songs share a narrative from the same moment in my life.”
Recorded across hotel rooms, Airbnbs, home studios, rehearsal spaces, and professional studios over the course of several years, Give Me More reflects both emotional and artistic evolution. The duo collaborated with a range of musicians to expand the project’s sonic palette.
At the heart of the EP is its soaring and emotionally exposed title track “Give Me More,” rooted in yearning, appetency, and unresolved attachment. “A lifetime supply of yearning, mixed with some unrequited love and a fixated obsession of the past,” Keenan says of the song’s inspiration.
What began as an instrumental demo during the isolation of COVID unexpectedly became the foundation for Softklub itself. Mark originally created the track while considering rebooting an old band and sent it to Keenan with the intention of adding piano. Instead, Keenan surprised Mark with vocals.
“I had never heard him sing, but it was exactly the vibe I wanted,” Mark recalls. “We continued writing together with zero expectations or even thinking about releasing anything. All of a sudden we realized we had 30+ songs we really enjoyed.”
Sonically, “Give Me More” embraces experimentation while remaining emotionally cohesive. Inspired by seeing The National perform with multiple drummers and expansive arrangements, Mark built the song around layered percussion, stacked guitars, synth textures, and immersive production choices designed to reward repeated listens.
First off, care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Hello dearest readers! I’m Mark, 1/2 of Softklub. I play guitar/bass/keys/fake drums. I mostly write the instrumentals, but occasionally pitch in on lyrics. My name is Keenan, I’m the other 1/2 of Sofklub. I sing and play piano/bass/fake drums. I write melodies and lyrics over Mark’s instrumentals and add additional instrumentation whenever I hear something worth contributing. Occasionally I pitch songs to Mark and get him to make them better. I also do all the graphic design and branding for the group.
Congratulations on the release of Give Me More! What emotions are you hoping listeners take away after hearing the EP from start to finish?
Thanks! I’m hoping the ep puts listeners in a reflective/introspective state of mind. That and I hope they cry a lil bit. ~ Mark
Keenan, you’ve described the EP as your most tightly knit collection of songs yet. What made this project feel different from your previous writing?
We chose songs not necessarily in the order they were written, but rather the sentiment behind the lyrics and the genre of music that they most closely aligned with. Mark and I have continued to explore further beyond this sound, but for this EP we chose to use a lot of live instruments. Drums, trumpet, guitar, piano, bass, etc.
“Give Me More” explores yearning, obsession, and unresolved attachment. Was it difficult to revisit those emotions while writing and recording the song?
There have been lots of tears mixed into the blood and the sweat it took to pull these songs from the aether. When I wrote the title track, ‘Give Me More’ it unlocked something in me. I have always struggled with what Andrea Stolpe calls “prosody.” When the melody and the lyrics are in agreement and feed off one another. With this song, and with ‘You Will’ the lyrics flowed out just as quick as the melody did. It felt almost as if the song was telling me what to do. While revisiting these moments was difficult, writing the EP gave me a way to further process my emotions. ~ Keenan
Mark, the title track began as an instrumental demo before Keenan unexpectedly added vocals. Do you remember your reaction the first time you heard his finished version?
I’m pretty sure it was something like “what the f*ck dude why didn’t I know you could sing like this!?”. Being a huge fan of The National, I’m a sucker for baritone vocals over energetic instrumentals, but I hadn’t met anyone who sang that way naturally / unprompted.
The EP was recorded across hotel rooms, Airbnbs, rehearsal spaces, home studios, and professional studios. How did those changing environments influence the creative process?
It let us blend the writing process pretty seamlessly with the recording process. Instead of writing a song, then booking studio time to record all the parts, we were able to write, sit with it, scrap what we didn’t like and fine tune the parts we enjoyed. It became less and less like a “recording session” and more like writing sessions where we just happened to be recording the final takes. ~ Mark
Looking ahead, what comes next for Softklub? Are there plans for more releases, touring, or bringing these songs to the stage?
We have a ridiculous amount of songs we plan to release, so that’s the priority for me. Just release as much music as we can. We’ve talked about shows / tours, but that’s likely further down the road. We want to focus on making the best albums we can while building online. ~ Mark
Bringing these songs to the stage would be a dream come true. However, at the moment it’s just Mark and I funding everything and there are a lot of costs associated with this project. That being said, you can head to our website to grab a copy of our Zine & our EP to help put a little money in our “put on a live show one day” fund. ~Keenan