Bridie Monds-Watson aka SOAK (they/them) has returned with a new song and a release date for their third album entitled If I Never Know You Like This Again, out on by Rough Trade Records on May 20th.
‘Purgatory’ is the song out today, and it arrives with a video shot by Ellius Grace. It’s a bright indie-rock song from the Derry artist.
If I Never… is the follow up to 2019’s Grim Town and SOAK’s Mercury-nominated 2015 debut album Before We Forgot How to Dream.
The song follows on from the January debut of ‘july’.
Bridie says the song ‘purgatory’ is:
“…about the weight of time and the perpetual fear of reaching the end of your life, unsatisfied with how you’d spent it. The song came out of a slump phase, I wasn’t really a fan of myself and honestly just felt rather lost. In ways that felt like it’s own purgatory. I was trying to figure out how to make myself feel better, become a ‘better version’ of myself. So I guess whilst this song is about panic, it’s equally about the pursuit of change.”
If I Never Know You Like This Again was written and recorded once again with long-time collaborator Tommy McLaughlin iwith inspirations from classic indie rock like Broken Social Scene, Pavement and Radiohead’s The Bends. They were “nerding out on guitars and pedals like moronic bros.” they say.
It was then recorded with the full band n Attica Studios in Donegal
“After being away from each other for the majority of the pandemic, it was important to create the record as a band, and the joyful energy of having everyone in the same room again is palpable. “
Tour Dates:
April 25th – Olympia Theatre, Dublin (supporting Lucy Dacus)
May 25th – Dolan’s, Limerick
May 26th – Whelan’s, Dublin
May 25th – Dolan’s, Limerick
May 28th – YES, Manchester
May 29th – The Caves, Edinburgh
May 31st – Village Underground, London
June 1st – Patterns, Brighton
June 2nd – Thekla, Bristol
“This record is the most accurate picture of me. I felt no pressure at all, it was almost like I was ranting as I was writing,” they explain.“When I was looking to the past, it was as though I had a big lottery ball of all my recent memories and I would just randomly select which one I wanted to unpack. It helped me to process my past.”
