I saw Soft Fangs, moniker for John Lutkevich, play a set at Great Scott just about a year ago last August. The new act had just formed in January following Lutkevich’s relocation to Brooklyn and, from what I had heard, the show was a way for Lutkevich to work out the kinks of playing live as Soft Fangs.

Above the loud chatter in the club, the two-piece band (drums and guitar with vocals) took over the room with all the gentleness and bite that the name implies. In the last year, the most consistent aspect of Lutkevich’s work as Soft Fangs is that his songwriting has only gotten better and better.

Golden is the new limited release tape — a preview for the upcoming Soft Fangs LP The Light off Disposable America — that’s already sold out of gold batch. They’ve moved on to yellow (you should go get yours on bandcamp before it sells out too).

The title track “Golden” opens with a whispery maraca sitting lonely in the back of the room. Nylon string guitars hint at the wistful power that radiates through all of Lutkevich’s material. The composition builds effortlessly, like a rogue wave unleashed out of the negative space.

There’s obvious sadness here, but that doesn’t seem to be the point. Within these textured sounds it’s clear that the evocation is embedded in a place out of sight. And on Golden that hidden feeling towers over everything. His voice is of someone finally confident after having been pushed around too much.