Soft Play – FKA Slaves – have shared their brutal new single ‘Act Violently’ and announced the new album ‘Heavy Jelly’.
The new track follows the previously released ‘Punk’s Dead‘ and ‘Mirror Muscles‘, and takes cues from nu-metal with its taut heaviness and the clean punch of its production. It also includes elements of Brit punk.
According to a press release, the song was inspired by Isaac Holman and Laurie Vincent almost getting hit by an e-scooter as they stepped out of album sessions at The Libertines’ Albion Rooms studio in Margate.
“The whole walk back to the studio, we were discussing our contempt for e-scooter drivers. They should be illegal,” shared Vincent. “They shouldn’t be on the road. They should need a theory test. It was just a rich well to discuss, and the song’s about that.”
‘Act Violently’s accompanying music video visualises the track’s narrative, seeing Holman being plagued by the same e-scooter wherever he goes: first almost splattering him as he leaves a shop, then knocking his phone out of his hand in the park and then coming close to running him over on a zebra crossing. He eventually snaps and vows to cast his vengeance vigilante-style.
Soft Play are set to release their fourth studio album ‘Heavy Jelly’ on July 19. It marks their first LP under their new band name and first long form project in over six years.
Physical formats of the album include CD, black vinyl, a signed CD exclusive to HMV, and a limited green vinyl that’s only available via the band’s official store and select indie retailers. You can pre-order /pre-save the album here.
Soft Play ‘Heavy Jelly’ tracklist is :
‘All Things’
‘Punk’s Dead’
‘Act Violently’
‘Isaac Is Typing…’
‘Bin Juice Disaster’
‘Worms On Tarmac’
‘John Wick’
‘Mirror Muscles’
‘Working Title’
‘The Mushroom and The Swan’
‘Everything and Nothing’
The band shared that the album’s is named after a Jiu-Jitsu instructor told Vincent to act like ‘heavy jelly’ by means of explaining how much resistance to give in a demonstration. The phrase ended up being something that reflects the duo’s world view “life is heavy, but it’s also funny,” said Holman.
Vincent added: “We’re not gonna be the band that leads your protest march really eloquently, but we might be the band that motivates you to go down the gym or start doing something productive and that’s important too,” he continues, “what we can do is sing about relatable things and share that with people.”
Holman continued: “Don’t try and be like everyone else. Just do what you want and have fun.”
Speaking to NME about their name change in a recent interview, the duo revealed that the decison to start going by Soft Play instead of Slaves was partly inspired by a conversation they had with Bob Vylan vocalist Bobby due to 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.
“If he felt uncomfortable about liking us, there must be others who feel the same way,” offered Vincent.
In their statement, the band wrote that they had previously “responded to criticism of the name from a place of fear and defensiveness” and they were “scared” of what would happen if they changed it because of how much their their identity was tied to the name. “It took years of therapy to see past that,” Vincent told NME.
“In the end, it just became tiring,” he continued. “I didn’t want to build a life around a name that clearly made people uncomfortable. It took a lot of growing up but now we’ve done it, it feels right.”
Elsewhere in the interview, they revealed that one of the tracks on ‘Heavy Jelly’ was written from the perspective of mega-assassin John Wick. “If Keanu Reeves reads this, we need you for a video mate,” said Vincent.
“The album is more accomplished than what we’ve done before,” he continued. “It’s frantic, frenetic, intense and still sounds really raw in places, but that’s not a mistake this time. I want to say it’s more mature, but there are some absolutely ridiculous songs on it. We’ve just captured the aggression and the humour perfectly this time.”
Vincent went on to praise Holman’s lyrics as the best he’s ever written, while Holman said he was inspired by his bandmate. “There was something about his riffs that made me want to scream from somewhere deep inside myself,” he offered. “It all felt so natural and so easy, which is when we’re at our best.”
In other news, the duo are set to play a string of live shows this summer including The Great Escape, Download Festival and Yungblud Fest. Check out the full list of dates below and visit here to purchase tickets.
Soft Play’s 2024 tour dates are:
MAY
18 – Brighton, The Great Escape
23 – Derbyshire, Bearded Theory Festival (OPENING PARTY HEADLINERS)
JUNE
14 – Donington Park, Download Festival
15 – Czechia, Rock For People
JULY
11-13 – Slovakia, Pohoda Festival
26 – Sheffield, Tramlines
27 – Oxford, Truck Festival
AUGUST
2-4 – Derbyshire, Y NOT? Festival
9 – Newquay, Boardmasters
11 – Milton Keynes, Bludfest
25 – Portsmouth, Victorious Festival
