SOFT PLAY, formerly Slaves, have well and truly returned after their hiatus, with the release of their first album since 2018. The post-punk duo, made up of Isaac Holman (vocals and drums) and Laurie Vincent (guitar and bass), welcome their fourth studio album, HEAVY JELLY– an angry, humorous and honest commentary on a modern life doused in technology, vanity and mental strife.
The album begins theatrically with ‘All Things’, the first fifteen seconds being a sample of a choir serenely singing the hymn ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’– a stark contrast to the following two and a half minutes of Isaac’s loud, screaming vocals and Laurie’s gritty baselines.
HEAVY JELLY continues with ‘Punks Dead’, the album’s first single, which was released in August last year and addresses their fans’ outrage and complaints of their name change from Slaves to SOFT PLAY. They cleverly deny any accusations of betraying their punk roots and being ‘snowflakes’ with an undeniably heavy, post-punk tune. They pull out all the stops for this song, with the inclusion of voice notes by disappointed and indignant fans who tell the duo to ‘change it back’, the sound of crying babies and also bringing in beloved pop legend, Robbie Williams, for guest vocals on the bridge. It is safe to say this song was successful in silencing any lingering complaints about the band’s new name.
SOFT PLAY boldly expose modern life’s flaws in HEAVY JELLY with ‘Act Violently’ being an expression of hate towards e-scooters (‘get that fucking scooter off the path / I’m about to commit an assault’), ‘Mirror Muscles’ being a criticism of narcissistic gym-bunnies and ‘Isaac is typing…’ which addresses the anxiety that is caused by social media.
For ‘Everything and Nothing’, the third single and the last song on the album, SOFT PLAY tones down their crashing drums and distorted guitar. This song is a beautifully tragic and heart-breaking reflection on life, unexpectedly accompanied by a catchy acoustic riff, mandolins and even the soothing sound of a violin. It was written as a tribute to their friend, Bailey, who passed away, and you can hear the grief and pain in Holman’s vocals throughout the song. The lyrics are drenched in emotion and some of SOFT PLAY’s most honest: ‘white knuckles on the counter in the kitchen / they don’t know how hard I’m kicking / to keep my head above’.
SOFT PLAY continue to release music consistent to their sound, and HEAVY JELLY is a testament to this. The album has some welcome variation with acoustic-punk song ‘Everything and Nothing’, but overall it is the well-loved, signature sound of SOFT PLAY and their distorted guitars, enraged, booming vocals with opinionated, political lyrics and drum beats that shun the hi-hat– if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.
HEAVY JELLY is set to be released on the 19th July and the songs will no doubt be even better played live on their UK tour in autumn.
Words by Emma Harrison