As ANBAD’s regular reader (Hi, dad!) knows, the careful and complex high-falutin’ submission guidelines for new bands are almost always trumped by one quick bypass clause: a band with an intriguing bandname generally will be given the most leeway.

Thus, you’ll begin to understand how Soapy Jefferson made it through ANBAD’s artfully arranged hoops and hurdles and made it onto the blog.

And here’s the result of all my pondering:

POP QUIZ!

Does “Soapy Jefferson” sound more like:

1. The nickname of a particularly grimy tramp?
2. A playground prank used alongside the Wet Willy and the Chinese Burn?
3. An eye-wateringly unpleasant, and possibly pungent, sexual act?

Please leave your best guesses in the comments section (of any other website).

Yet, it’s Soapy Jefferson’s songwriting that has really landed them on ANBAD, with the song Balloon proving as calming as Valium, and as repeatedly enticing as, well, Valium.

Make no mistakes - Balloon is an oily, aromatic song; sprightly, gentle and life-affirming. There’s a string-led riff that punctuates the song, and it’s as happy and carefree as you could hope for.

A misty otherworldliness pervades. I doubt if anyone involved in making this song are really sure whether it is upbeat or gloomy, and this confusion is just what such a song deserves. Excellent.

MORE: soundcloud.com/soapyjeffersonpress