Fight Softly veers from the path set by its predecessor, the 2008 release Sea Lion.

Thematically, it's not as wide-eyed or lighthearted, picking apart the relationships faced as we pass through the world -- with our surroundings, each other, ourselves. Sonically, it remains as beat-centric, though these beats are deliciously artificial -- stretched and compacted and distorted beyond recognition. Melodies are scuzzy and digital, no guitars strummed or basses plucked. McPhun's soulful upper-register croon, swallowed into the mix, replaces group chants and full-throated singalongs.