SOAK – ‘Sea Creatures’
New single released via Rough Trade on March 16
Headline show (ICA, February 4), UK Skate-Park Tour, BBC Sound of 2015
“A vivid portrait of teenage deep-thinking: intricate, ambiguous psychodramas” Guardian
“SOAK’s sound has snippets of Cat Power and the delicacy of Lykke Li…well-crafted and uplifting psalms” Noisey
“Age be damned. Talent shouts louder” NME
“Understated and beautiful” Stereogum
SOAK has announced plans for a new single, ‘Sea Creatures’, which will be released on March 16 via Rough Trade. This follows the success of recent track ‘B a noBody’, which was added to the In New Music We Trust list at Radio 1, saw Bridie perform a string of sold-out headline shows and culminated in a nomination for the BBC Sound of 2015 poll. Having toured with the likes of George Ezra, Tegan + Sara and CHVRCHES – as well as being named a One to Watch by the likes of iTunes and Spotify this year – SOAK will headline an intimate date at the ICA on February 4 (as part of the ‘Annie Mac Presents Collected’ series), before indulging her other major passion in life – a range of free live dates at skate-parks nationwide, SOAK’s SK9 tour, has been confirmed for next month in association with The Line of Best Fit, with tickets available from 9AM this Friday (January 23).
Taken from sessions from her forthcoming debut album, ‘Sea Creatures’ encapsulates the origins and also the progress of SOAK. Originally written when she was just fourteen years old, a DIY demo of the track was uploaded quietly by Bridie to BBC Introducing with the help pf her parents (A&Rs subsequently boarded the next flight to Derry, much to the Monds-Watsons’ bemusement). Keen not to rush into anything, SOAK continued to split her time between school, the local skate-park and her burgeoning songwriting. And it’s a patience which appears to be paying off: produced alongside Tommy McLaughlin from Villagers, ‘Sea Creatures’ has since evolved into a beautiful, lilting piece of orchestral pop, seemingly as inspired by the hushed balladry of Laura Marling as the textured soundscapes of Beach House.
Lyrically, SOAK’s songs are rooted in intimate and honest observations of adolescence, family and friendship. Though it may sound like a love song, ‘Sea Creatures’ was actually inspired by watching a friend get bullied at school, and mixes a quiet insistence that things will get better with a dry, encouraging wit (“I pray for you / But you know I don’t like Jesus”). Again picking up the theme of companionship and isolation, recent single ‘B a noBody’ captured a mid-life crisis in your teenage years, and the uncertainty of what do with the rest of your life. It’s a crossroads SOAK herself cleared just this summer (whilst her friends collected their A-Level results, Bridie finally penned a deal with Rough Trade). Older, wiser but still just 18 years old, SOAK is expected to release her debut album later this year.
4th Feb – Annie Mac Presents, ICA – TICKETS: http://hyperurl.co/AMPSoak
SOAK SK9 TOUR – Free entry, tickets via: https://billetto.co.uk/soak
Tues 10 Dublin, D10 Skate Park
Wed 11 Oxford, SS20 Skate Shop
Thu 12 Bristol Campus, Skate Park
Fri 13 Bournemouth, Prevail Skate House
Sat 14 Weymouth, Front Skate Park
Tue 17 London, Parlour Skate Shop
Thu 19 Halifax, Orangebox
Fri 20 Dumbarton, Unit 23 Skate Park
Sat 21 Sheffield, The House Skate Park
Sea Creatures on iTunes: http://hyperurl.co/seacreaturesitunes
Sea Creatures on Spotify: http://hyperurl.co/seacreaturesspotify
No Comments