SOFTSPOT Finds Inspiration For 'Maritime Law' In Stormy Seas SOFTSPOT's song "Maritime Law" originated when frontwoman Sarah Kinlaw and her dad were caught in a storm off the North Carolina coast. She says the experience made her view safety in a new way.

A Brooklyn Band Finds Inspiration In Stormy Seas

A Brooklyn Band Finds Inspiration In Stormy Seas

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SOFTSPOT's new album, Clearing, is out now. Landon Speers/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Landon Speers/Courtesy of the artist

SOFTSPOT's new album, Clearing, is out now.

Landon Speers/Courtesy of the artist

A couple summers ago, Sarah Kinlaw of the Brooklyn indie-rock band SOFTSPOT was on a boat off the coast of North Carolina with her father. A sudden thunderstorm swept in, disrupting the previously calm waters — and inspiring the song "Maritime Law," which appears on SOFTSPOT's new album, Clearing.

"We just kind of waited it out," Kinlaw says of that storm. "I feel like it's very symbolic, because growing up ... I looked towards my parents for guidance, for safety, for comfort. And the symbol of just being out with him in an unpredictable setting and something which he couldn't control — that was powerful to me."

Hear Kinlaw tell the story of "Maritime Law" at the audio link.