Soft Vein
All We’ve Known of Heaven
Artoffact Records
If you’ve been following Los Angeles’ Soft Vein since their first LP in 2023 but hadn’t heard any of the pre-release singles for new album All We’ve Known of Heaven you might be forgiven for wondering if it’s even the same project. It’s not that Justin Chamberlain has entirely changed his approach to music: you’re still getting a lot of the same melancholic melodies of the project’s debut and sophomore records, but with the hyper-gloomy and often dour mood of those albums replaced with a powerful, hopeful yearning. Coupled with Chamberlain’s rapid growth as a songwriter, All We’ve Known of Heaven has emerged as one of year’s most moving and engaging listens.
Chamberlain’s biggest asset in both his songcraft and his performances is his sense of restraint. The album’s feeling of intimacy comes directly from how simultaneously laidback and vulnerable it comes across; a cut like “Forgetting You” works because its clean, Knopfler-esque guitar and multi-tracked vocals bring you in, setting you up for the big drum machine claps and a damnably catchy chorus. The effect is that it feels like the songs being sung to you as a listener, not at you. When Chamberlain asks “Is this all we are?/All we know?” on the jaw-dropping synthpop gem “All We’ve Known of Heaven” it’s a question directed at the world at large, its ruminations on the sad state of things in the early days of the 21st century building to a plea for a kinder, more loving world. It’s stirring by virtue of the honesty with which it’s delivered, both vocally and musically, from its tasteful synthwork and the smooth closing saxophone solo, to the cathartic introspection of its lyrics and Chamberlain’s deeply heartfelt vocals.
The warmth and passion of the songs are fully supported by the wonderfully lush and refined production from Chamberlain himself, assisted by live member Andrea Mantione of Nuovo Testamento. “Learning to Talk” is a sweet love song about the sense of discovery in being with another person, its little synth and guitar trills and half-whispered opening verse building momentum gradually, the space around the instruments growing into a powerful climax. In one of the record’s best moments on “Chekhov”, the edge of bitterness and disappointment in Chamberlain’s voice is perfectly matched by the ghostly pads that hang behind him like a reminder, suggesting a soft but everpresent ache. Similarly, the Cocteau Twins guitars that adorn “White Towers (White Shores)” work so well because the song’s programmed drums and keys are locked in beneath them, lifting the song up while also pushing it forwards.
All We’ve Known of Heaven is comforting, quietly confident, unhurried, and above all an incredibly lovely record to just sit and listen to. Justin Chamberlain’s willingness to let the songs speak for themselves is certainly a part of it; while no doubt there’s passion and investment in every moment of the LP, it’s all presented with an unpretentious and open candor that makes it easy to get swept up in its grand swells of emotion. An absolute stunner of a album, and one of the year’s best to date. Recommended.
