Stripping yourselves of a rather brilliant name like ‘The Muslims’ and replacing is with the much duller ‘The Soft Pack‘ is a move that lesser bands may never recover from, but in our eyes coming on like an early 90s lo-fi alt. outfit such as Pavement, Sebadoh or even early REM is a surefire way to redeem oneself and that’s exactly what this L.A based band are doing in abundance. Since their quite public renaming (anything to do with a new record deal guys?) they have been honing their wonderfully contagious, disjointed slacker pop whilst racking up support slots with indie’s elite (including godmothers of 90s alt, the Breeders). A recently announced UK headline tour in May and a selection of summer European festivals along with the imminent arrival of their ‘Muslims EP’, which is already released in the US, should see their profile rise somewhat over the course of 2009……. this years Vampire Weekend anybody?