Album Review: SOAK - 'If I Never Know You Like This Again'
Playful yet self-aware and even more so contemplative, SOAK returns with their third album to date - unapologetically themselves and ready to make greater waves in the stratosphere of the contemporary scene.
Bridie Monds-Watson, aka SOAK, has released their third album, If I Never Know You Like This Again. Following a stellar debut (Before We Forgot How To Dream) and its ambitious follow-up (Grim Town), Monds-Watsons speaks of finally feeling at home in their artistry with this release.
Released from the expectations of debut albums and the pressures of subsequent sophomores, Monds-Watson is making music for themself and only themself - personal experiences, honest emotions, and intimate narratives come to the forefront of this album’s identity. Having written most of the album during the pandemic, they had to challenge themselves to write innovatively during a time when “time was at its slowest and life felt only half full.”
Hence making “a marvel of the mundane”, Monds-Watson speaks of their need to capture moments and memories, solidifying them in time - may that be through photos, videos or music. This album is a compilation of what Monds-Watson calls “song-memories”. They state, “I hate the idea of getting older and forgetting, or having a family and not being able to perfectly explain a memory of a feeling. I always want to remember exactly how I felt at a certain moment.”
The release from expectation that has come alongside Monds-Watson’s matured artistry arrives at a time when the world has turned to contemplation. Monds-Watson describes the lyricism of this album as the most accurate representation of themself - without attempting to spin feelings into poetry, they instead speak candidly of experience. They anticipate that this writing will connect to its audience in a different way; these moments are not hauntingly beautiful or romanticised, but rather, universally relatable - a tongue-in-cheek version of life that remains playful in its heavy subject.
From Lo-fi indie, post punk rock, to contemporary pop - the band cites Radiohead, Pavement and Broken Social Scene as sonic influences for the record. Long-time collaborator Tommy McLaughlin is credited with production on the album, working closely with the band to invent its distinctive stripped-back subtlety of the album’s sound.
Each track is incredibly vulnerable, as Monds-Watson croons its lyrics ever so unapologetically. Touching on topics of mortality, doubt, disappearing and drugs to pessimism and missing someone - the record is certainly a collection of the most intimate feelings there are to be felt in your 20s.
Nodding to pop-punk and indie-rock, the album is sonically refreshing and instrumentally innovative. Gaps are left in the music, just enough for the soul of each song to come through - this is where Monds-Watson’s artistry stands out the most. The dynamic musicianship is evident across (but certainly not limited to) tracks like ‘Purgatory’, ‘Guts’ and ‘Neptune’. Shimmery guitar effects, crashing hi-hats and grunge riffs compliment their vocals to create a record that is truly one-of-a-kind.
SOAK’s third album centres on their identity - the “return” to themself is refreshing and disarming in its playfulness and honesty. The theme of rediscovering oneself is much-needed in the climate we are all existing - an ache for a new world. As listeners and fans of SOAK, we can be confident that the band will outdo themselves with every new release, simply by further accepting their growth and progression in vulnerability. This, after all, will always make the most touching music.
Words by Rachel Min Leong
