Soak releases first solo track in four years

SOAK  has released the new single ‘death valley fridge magnet’ on Rough Trade Records.

It's their first solo track in over four years, following collaborations with George Fitzgerald, Gordi, Fred Again… and Katie Malco on their previous releases.

Their new single comes alongside a video shot by Charlotte Langel.

“When I wrote ‘death valley fridge magnet,' I was feeling incredibly lost in my life,” they explained. “I’d started having vocal issues and thought my time in music was coming to an end. I think I was trying to make sense of myself and the direction I was headed by painting a picture of the world from where I was standing.

“In doing so I realised how precious and treasured my friendships are and how my friends remind me of who I am faster than anything else. Even if that’s a two minute long conversation at a truck stop in the middle of nowhere, America, it doesn’t take much and it all adds up.”

Soak will embark on a headline Irish tour this summer, taking to the stage at: Luca Records & Decks, Waterford on June 29; Prim’s Bookshop, Kinsale on June 30; De Barra’s Folk Club, Clonakilty on July 1; Tech Amergin, Waterville on July 3; Levis Corner House, Ballydehob on July 4; The Green Room, Dingle on July 5; Roisin Dubh, Galway on July 7 and Glenveagh Inn, Termon on July 11.

This tour will be followed by a sold-out headline show in London on July 17 and a support slot with Pulp at Rough Trade’s 50th Anniversary event at Royal Festival Hall on July 18. In autumn, they will head to America to support The Barr Brothers, including a stop at NYC’s Bowery Ballroom on October 29.

SOAK, who's real name is Bridi Monds-Watson, first came to prominence in 2015 when their debut album, Before We Forgot How to Dream, earned a Mercury Prize nomination and won RTÉ Choice Music Prize for Album of the Year.

They  released two more albums, Grim Town in 2019 and If I Never Know You Like This Again in 2022, before taking a four year long hiatus, citing a combination of burnout, intense pressure of early fame and more recently, a vocal injury.

"I was always trying to be overly articulate, like I had something to prove – especially with my last record," the Northern Irish singer told Hot Press in 2022. “When the first thing you do does well, it’s like, ‘Where do I go now?’”