Thundering, roaring and surprisingly sensitive, out of the ashes of Slaves comes Soft Play with their fourth album Heavy Jelly. Isaac Holman and Laurie Vincent have reunited after three years of separate ventures (Baby Dave and Larry Pink The Human respectively), the rebirth includes a band name change from the problematic Slaves to the Google unfriendly Soft Play. Whilst it is harder to search them on the internet without finding local ball pits the new name is certainly less offensive. Despite it not being their intention (the name was a reference to a feeling of being wage slaves and tied to jobs they had no desire for), the issues with the name have been well documented and in recent press duties, the band have spoken honestly about their embarrassment of their refusal to change earlier in their career.
Yero Zero of Soft Play has been busy- fresh from their stunning performance at Glastonbury (on iPlayer, well worth checking out) they’ve released Heavy Jelly before launching into their headline tour across the country to promote it. The album starts with a sample of ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’ sung by a chorus of wholesome voices lulling the listener into a false sense of security before it cuts into a progressive heavy riff, crunching drums and Isaac giving his all with his vocal performance. The track again switches into a mosh-inducing thrashing middle eight, before returning to the riff. ‘All Things’ sets the tone for what’s to come: expect the unexpected.
The lead single is the excellent ‘Punk’s Dead’. Using the comments from social media following the announcement of their name change for the song’s concept and lyrics is genius- it provides context to the change whilst ridiculing all the negativity. It’s very clever but, more importantly, it’s also a killer tune and irresistible to not sing along with. In true punk spirit, they aim the gun at the original punk idol “Johnny Rotten is turning in his bed / I was gonna say grave but the fucker ain’t dead.” which I would like to think he would approve of.
‘Act Violently’ is as aggressive and hard-hitting as you would expect from its title but coupled with a semi-American accent from Laurie “Hey I’m walking here!” to provide comedy relief and soften the song. The guitar riff is furious in tandem with Isaac’s lyrics which are spat out. The chorus has some thundering fast fretwork with screeching licks. ‘Isaac Is Typing…’ features a pure heavy metal guitar sound with industrial drums which breaks into a technical guitar riff, before leading into a bouncy chorus. Laurie’s guitar playing is excellent throughout the album, and considering they are just a duo the sound they make is impressively complete, and of course, loud.
‘Bin Juice Disaster’ is a song about everyday domestic trials and tribulations detailed to a forensic level. The thumping drums build the tempo to turn the mundane chore of emptying the bin into an anxiety-inducing moment of fear with Isaac raging with lament over his procrastination which led to the tragedy. “My 30 litre pedal bin was filled more than it should have been / why did I keep pushing it down? / trousers rolled up, dry retching / smells like shit in my kitchen” quite the image being painted.
‘Worms On Tarmac’ is a cautionary tale told through the perspective of a worm who bursts into a rap to conclude the track. “I’m sensing through receptors, man / I’m breathing through my skin / no lungs / don’t need ‘em / I eat mud / I taste freedom”. If you think this sounds weird you are not wrong. Ultimately the worm gets stuck in a puddle before he appears to meet his fate at the hands (paws?) of a dog. The middle of the album flashes by, mainly due to both this and the previous track being clocked at only two minutes long each.
A dark moody guitar sound opens ‘Mirror Muscles’. Lyrically the song mocks lads obsessed with gyms and the toxic masculine behaviours and languages contained within them. “Schoolboys on steroids / working their deltoids / shit boy mullet / look at this peak, look at this summit”. Isaac is considered by some to be a “gym lad” so it could be taken that he is describing himself, in a self-deprecated way. One thing is for sure, Soft Play are not to be taken too seriously.
The bottom of a drug-addled barrel is detailed within ‘Working Title’. Gritty scenes of depravity are depicted, about as far away as possible from a glamorous lifestyle. The song has a cartoon feel to it, mainly provided by the sound effects and backing vocals.
The final song ‘Everything and Nothing’ is the show stopper. The boys break from their usually macho cover and produce a wonderfully tender and sensitive song, not the words usually used to describe Soft Play. The mandolin and violin melodies pull on the heartstrings and combine with the song’s meaning to hit hard and produce a wonderfully emotional song about the loss of a mate. As someone who has experienced the loss of a close friend, it resonates and captures the sense of regret, despair and depression felt. The sound is lighter in tone as a result of the additional string instruments but Isaac’s blistering shouted vocal take prevents the song from turning into a ballad. A beautiful tribute to their lost friend and one of my favourite tracks of the year.
Peel back the hard exterior and roaring delivery and you will find intelligent, and at times, heartfelt lyrics. The record is both irrelevant (Worms On Tarmac) and relatable, hitting key aspects of life in 2024 and feeling very modern as a result. It’s got plenty of humour, which was not the case for its predecessor, 2018’s Acts Of Fear and Love, which is maybe an indication that the lads are enjoying their time together again after their extended break and Heavy Jelly is all the richer for it. It’s a genuine and truthful record from a band where there is clearly a lot of love between Isaac and Vincent. The guys have again produced an exhilarating album, so while some things have changed, thankfully others have stayed the same.
RIP Slaves, long live Soft Play!
Words by Dave Holgado
Support The Indiependent
We’re trying to raise £200 a month to help cover our operational costs. This includes our ‘Writer of the Month’ awards, where we recognise the amazing work produced by our contributor team. If you’ve enjoyed reading our site, we’d really appreciate it if you could donate to The Indiependent. Whether you can give £1 or £10, you’d be making a huge difference to our small team.