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Slayyyter has announced companion album ‘Wor$t Man in America’ for December•
Welly are going to headline a very special Dork’s Night Out at The 100 Club•
Down With Boring returns tonight with The North, plus bags of new music•
Keo have announced their 2027 UK, European and North American headline tour•
Primavera Sound Barcelona has announced its 2027 anniversary line-up•
Madra Salach have released new single ‘Ribbon Factory’•
Bleech 9:3 have dropped new track 'Tourniquet' and announced their biggest headline tour yet•
Mollie Elizabeth has announced her new EP ‘People Pleaser’ and shared ‘Kiss The Ring’•
Baby Dave and The Works have kicked off a new collaboration with ‘Wings’•
RAYE, Olivia Dean, JADE and more are set to perform at the 2026 Mercury Prize ceremony•
Fontaines D.C. have released ‘Tongue’ and its New York-shot video•
LCD Soundsystem have announced 12 New York residency shows, including their 100th•
Saint Clair have shared new single ‘Dreams’ ahead of sold-out autumn headline tour•
overpass and Nieve Ella have shared a new version of ‘Fall In Love’•
Pollyfromthedirt has shared ‘White Wine Vinegar’ and announced a first London headline show•
Audrey Hobert has unveiled a new video for 'Sex and the City' as she begins her headline tour•
The Dork 2025 Readers' Poll nominations are in, featuring CMAT, Turnstile, Wolf Alice, Djo, Hayley Williams and loads more•
flowerovlove has released her first-ever first Christmas track, 'wishlist'•
Mighty Hoopla and Olly Alexander have announced Trans Mission, a concert for trans solidarity•
JADE has announced a deluxe edition of her debut album, 'THAT'S SHOWBIZ BABY! THE ENCORE'•
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Soak is back with a newfound confidence: "I didn't want to be shy about what I had to say"

With her debut album, she cooked up an award-nominated storm. Now, Soak - AKA Bridie Monds-Watson - is back, and better than ever.

Soak is back with a newfound confidence: "I didn't want to be shy about what I had to say"
Written by
Dork
Artists
SOAK
Published
25 Apr 2019 • 8:36 am
In 2005 Soak made quite the impression with her stunning Mercury-nominated debut album, ‘Before We Forgot How To Dream’. It was a collection that established the Derry-born songwriter as one of our most vital new voices, making music of deep emotion and piercing relatability. Now, after four years away she has returned with a second album that is bigger, bolder and brighter. ‘Grim Town’ is a step up for an artist who returns more confident than ever before.

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SOAK: “I didn’t want to bullshit anything”
Features

SOAK: “I didn’t want to bullshit anything”

With their latest album, ‘If I Never Know You Like This Again’, SOAK has captured emotion like never before.

It would have been easy for Soak to stay on the treadmill and capitalise on the success of her debut, but instead, the singer decided to take a more considered approach. “If I hadn’t have taken that time out I don’t think I’d have made this album or an album as good,” she begins. “At that point of time in my life, I had to really think about my health and just take some quiet time to grow up a little bit outside music.”
Only 19 when her debut was released, the intervening years have seen a crucial period of reflection and discovery which she has poured into ‘Grim Town’. “My first record was about the years 13-17 and being a teenager. It was more hiding behind a guitar and mumbling lyrics because I was still quite shy,” she explains. “I’ve grown up so much since then, and I wanted to make confident music. The breakthrough for this record was that I wanted to be as honest as possible and I didn’t want to be shy about what I had to say. I felt strongly about everything. Musically, I wanted to have loads of fun and to juxtapose how some of the lyrics were dark with music that’s upbeat.”
"I was trying to create my brain as a sonic dystopian place" Soak You can hear all her desire to break down any boundaries and push herself in ‘Grim Town’s’ expansive, dramatic pop rushes and tender emotional confessions. Part of its striking nature is down to its relatability. Everyone knows a grim town; everyone can picture the seemingly meaningless futility of life with no options and no future. Soak, though, can see a way out and she paints that picture vividly as the record progresses on its journey.
As well as small-town ennui the record deals with mental illness and anxiety and the conflicting rush of emotions of youth. “It looks at social anxiety and depression but also I wanted the album to start like you were in a well and by the end, you had crawled your way out of the well,” says Soak positively.
The significance of how a deeply honest record like this might affect someone dealing with similar issues is one that resonates with Soak. “When I was going through that breakdown trying to work out what was going on, I was obsessed with finding things to relate to and ways to feel understood,” she reveals. “I wanted to be as honest and frank as possible. It’s so scary to talk about mental illness and be honest with yourself. It’s hard for people around you to hear you say these things, but ultimately it’s for the better. I just wanted to help lessen the stigma and hopefully help anyone else in that situation.”
"It’s so scary to talk about mental illness and be honest with yourself" Soak The voyage of discovery leading to ‘Grim Town’ is perhaps best represented on one of its key songs, ‘Life Trainee’. “I define that as the era in my life when you move out of home, leave your friends behind and life gets serious. I’ve become more comfortable with myself in the last couple of years compared to when I was younger. I feel a lot more confident in what I have to say and doubt myself a bit less than I did before.
At one point she sings of being a “work in progress”. “ I don’t think it’s ever really impossible to come out of that stage of being a life trainee; I don’t know if you ever graduate and become perfect at life. It’s ok to go through the whole spectrum of emotions.”
Taken from the May issue of Dork. Soak's album 'Grim Town' is out 26th April.
Words: Martyn Young

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