Featured on BlackPlastic, in 2023, with her growling exploration of disconnection and modern communication, Swishers, the Chicago artist has just released her new single, No ID.
With production duties shared between Softmax herself and partner Sam Hudgens, No ID has a similar sound to Swishers, chunky, robotic and dark. Thick, fuzzy guitars come from Cameron Winter collaborator and MGMT guitarist James Richardson, and they provide the skeleton for Softmax’s performance.
A product of the system it portrays, No ID is an exploration of the nature of the music industry. Artists have to seek approval and support from a system that encourages inauthenticity, effectively contributing to a disconnect between artist and audience. This theme extends to the song’s artwork, where Softmax sits on the floor, disengaged, as she is photographed in front of a giant print of an image she herself took on her travels.
Throughout the song, Softmax repeats the refrain, ‘Nothing I do, will ever be good enough for you’, and yet in doing so she has created an infectious, authentic and, frankly, catchy depiction of the actual reality of being a musician.