“Shortcuts” has an unusual origin for a lead single: Gus Alexander wrote it years ago in her bedroom and shelved it as too simple to bother finishing. Brought back into the studio under GOODTWIN, it grew into something much fuller, gaining percussion, stacked harmonies, and a whimsical bridge along the way. It’s the first taste of Soft Serve, the project’s debut EP arriving this fall and billed as “Open Road Music,” and the description fits; the lyrics conjure that hazy, windows-down feeling of pink skies and open highway, somewhere between fantasy and quiet rebellion.
The first thing that hits you when you listen to this song is how beautiful the lush soundscape is. It balances warmth with brightness really well, never leaning too far into either the smooth, retro-soul side of the project’s sound or the brighter alt-pop edges, instead sitting comfortably between the two. The second thing is how addictive the chorus melody is, the kind of hook you just recognize as great the moment it lands. A big part of why it works so well is the rhythm section underneath it, which supports that melody impeccably; the groove here is genuinely palpable, giving the chorus a physical pull rather than just a catchy shape. The free-flowing saxophone line that opens and threads through the track adds another layer of expressiveness atop that foundation, giving the song a sense of improvisation even within a tight pop structure.
With reference points like Fleetwood Mac, Men I Trust and Japanese Breakfast in the mix, GOODTWIN is clearly working toward something that sounds both current and a little timeless at once, and “Shortcuts” delivers on that promise. For a song that almost never made it out of a bedroom, it’s a confident, fully realized way to introduce Soft Serve, and it leaves plenty of curiosity about what the rest of the EP has in store.
