SOFT PLAY used to go by the name Slaves and have taken some significant time off as a band due to due some significant life events happening to both members of the group (Isaac Holman - drums and vocals, Laurie Vincent - guitar). Their last appearance was on Gorillaz' Momentary Bliss track way back in January 2020, and the last release of their own was in 2019, and was just essentially a leftovers EP from their last full record in 2018. So it has been a while! Understandably so, considering Laurie lost his wife to cancer in 2020 and Isaac has alluded to having a mental breakdown and has been struggling with OCD, alongside the duo experiencing the loss of a few other significant people in their lives during this time.
Now the band are back with a new name as they were fed up of having to continually justify their previous name choice to a pretty valid criticism that they themselves actually agreed with. The name change is the core conceit of their comeback single (and lead single for HEAVY JELLY), Punk's Dead. The track is essentially a pre-emptive piss take of fans angry about the apparent 'wokeness' of the name change. The song is super heavy, with gnarly garage punk riffs, and also super funny, with some killer lines and a feature from Robbie Williams on the bridge.
I think Punk's Dead epitomises the change in sound on HEAVY JELLY, it's heavier and also funnier than the group's previous output. Not that the band were ever serious, but on their records in the past, the humour was much more observational and targeted at others (think Girl Fight and Rich Man). Whereas on HJ, the band lean more into absurdism or writing from a first person perspective - making the jokes feel less cynically targeted at individuals and more of a wink and a nod just to bring a smile to peoples faces. On the sound side of things, the sound is much heavier, with super heavy, fuzzed out riffs that border on metal in places. Similarly, Isaac's shouty vocals are so much more intense and also border on a metallic scream - particularly on the opener All Things.
As the record is just a straight up 30 mins of blistering punk rock, I don't feel the need to going in depth into every track here, but here are a few highlights. The story of someone knocking Isaac's shopping out is hand and his completely disproportionate reaction on Act Violently is hilarious, as is his outsized reaction to a leaky bin bag on Bin Juice Disaster. Worms On Tarmac is an absurdist tale of a worm that is lost in the human world of tarmac and concrete who is longing for mud and swamps. Isaac Is Typing... humourfully details Isaacs struggles with OCD against sludgy alt-metal riffs. Mirror Muscles and Working Title are more akin to older targeted piss takes, being about 'roided up gym freaks and people playing the Hollywood game. Both are worthy targets, and make great songs.
That leaves the closer, Everything and Nothing, which is a bit of an oddball in the tracklist, being a jangly mandolin led post-punk / indie rock tune and is the only one that is explicitly about the trauma the duo has been through over the past few years. It is an outpouring of grief that feels so earnest and beautiful. It really touches a nerve, being dedicated to a friend of Isaac who he lost, but with lyrics referencing the death of Laurie's wife and just general isolation and the longing for connection.
I think that the fact that Everything and Nothing follows a record that up to this point has been silly, fun and irreverent only enhances its impact, and the profundity of the record as a whole. Instead of falling into it all and losing themselves, Isaac and Laurie reformed the band, made a bunch of fun songs that brought a smile to their faces, the faces of their fans, and reconnected with the world around them. And in doing that, the band have made their best album to date.
Top Tracks: All Things, Punk's Dead, Act Violently, Isaac Is Typing..., Bin Juice Disaster, Worms On Tarmac, Mirror Muscles, Working Title, Everything and Nothing
8/10
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