For some, home is a place; an address on a map, a specific location that exists in a physical setting, calling for us to return amidst our darker and uneasy hours. But home can also be a feeling, one that provides emotional gravity, wherever we may be in the world, available and willing to help steer our mental course to calmer waters.
That feeling exists like a soothing haze in the sonic daydream that is “Sin Some / Lose Some,” the new single from Philadelphia alternative and dream pop project Soft Skies Inc.
It’s the first dose of new music in 2025 from the duo of identical twin brothers and longtime musical confidants Ryan and Martin Rex, who resurfaced last fall with a pair of releases in the streaming “Sooner or Later” and a Sapphire Goss-directed video for “Your Small Army.”
“At the core, these songs explore chaos, love, darkness, beauty, and redemption,” says Ryan. “Finding meaning in the mess, and light in the shadows.”
This new single and its creative lineage traces a path around the world, taking Ryan from Massachusetts to Australia to North Carolina, all while providing a reminder to stay grounded as life’s tension and instability creep up on us in our most vulnerable moments. Like all Soft Skies Inc compositions, there’s room for the listener to take it to their own emotional shelter, but there also exists a compass for the song to take the listener somewhere, as well.
“More than anything, I want people to find their own meaning in the song,” Ryan adds. “But for me, it’s about the chaos of living a life that’s been off the rails for too long – trying to wrestle control over things that were never really in your hands to begin with. There’s a kind of madness in that. The line ‘just come down for a while’ is a plea – almost like someone shaking you awake. It’s a call to ground yourself before you burn out completely. That lyric, ‘you won’t treat those burns in a fire,’ is a warning. You can’t heal while you’re still standing in the flames. At some point, you’ve got to start doing things differently.”
“Sin Some / Lose Some,” its title a foreboding twist on the familiar mantra about life’s ups and downs, reflecting on a “can’t win” scenario Ryan describes above, began to take shape after he relocated from Boston, where he and Martin were known for their work in ‘90s-era space rock band Lockgroove, to Sydney, exploring new surroundings and cultures while a significant distance from his best friend and family.
