Soft Play have announced a reissue of their classic debut ‘Are You Satisfied?’, celebrating a decade since the original release. Find out more below.
The album was first shared by Isaac Holman and Laurie Vincent under their original ‘Slaves’ band name back in 2015, and the visceral underground punk sound helped put them on the map. The album debuted in the Top 10 and secured both a Gold certification and a Mercury Prize nod.
Now, 10 years after its original release, the band will be reissuing the record on August 29 2025. Visit here to pre-order.
It will feature the same original tracklist, which includes live staples like ‘The Hunter’, ‘Sockets’ and ‘Cheer Up London’, as well as ‘Hey’ – which the band performed during their debut on Later… With Jools Holland.
Also in the reissue is a selection of b-sides from the era, as well as a demo of ‘Tricky’ and their cover of Skepta’s ‘Shutdown’, which they played as part of their time on the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge. Tracks from their ‘Sugar Coated Bitter Truth’ EP are included too.
The 10th anniversary edition will mark the first time the collection has been released in a physical format, and will be completed with updated cover art featuring the Soft Play logo and a selection of archive photography.
Vincent said: “10 years since we released our debut album. ‘Are you satisfied?’ took us places we never dreamed were reachable and it was the foundation our career was built upon. It only feels right to reissue it with our new improved name.”
When it was first shared, ‘Are You Satisfied?’ was given a four-star review from NME and described as a record that saw the duo appear “larger-than-life”. “They’ve used their major-label debut to rally the troops rather than just jeer at them from the sidelines,” the review read. “Every song here is a call to arms or an affirmative flip of the table.”
The members would then speak to NME later that year about how they hoped their music would come as a wake up call for those feeling disillusioned and unmotivated.
“What we found when we started this band is that we’d made our dreams come true,” Vincent said. “I wish there was more inspiration, so many people say ‘I don’t know what to do’ or ‘I can’t do this’, but somebody has to do it. In our generation, there’s lots of negativity towards people being creative. When I was growing up no one ever said ‘You can do it’. Our band says you can.”
The album was followed by two other Top 10 albums, 2016’s ‘Take Control’ and 2018’s ‘Acts of Fear and Love’. The band would change their name to Soft Play in 2022 and went on to share their latest album, ‘Heavy Jelly’ in 2024.
Earlier that year, Soft Play spoke to NME about their name change, and revealed that the decision to retire the Slaves moniker was partly inspired by a conversation they had with Bob Vylan due to the perceived racial insensitivity of the name.
“He basically said we were one of his favourite bands but he wouldn’t wear our merch,” explained Holman, and Vincent added: “If he felt uncomfortable about liking us, there must be others who feel the same way.”
Since then, the band have spoken to NME again and told us about the collaboration with Kate Nash, ‘Slushy’ – which was shared as part of the ‘Heavy Jelly’ expanded edition.
Discussing the similarities between themselves and Nash, Holman said: “It’s just like, say what you see. I always say to people when they’re struggling with writer’s block, ‘You don’t have to have something amazing to write about. Just write about what’s in front of you’.”
For the remainder of 2025, Soft Play will be on the road, playing various European festivals over the summer, embarking on a North American headline tour, and playing support slots for the likes of IDLES, Slipknot, The Libertines, Cage The Elephant and more. Visit here for tickets and more information.
