Bridie Monds-Watson of Soak is announcing her new album Grim Town, today, the anticipated follow-up to her 2015 debut, Before We Forgot How To Dream. As evidenced by both albums’ titles, Soak is in the business of documenting the paradigm shift that takes place during the transition from wide-eyed and youthful innocence to the first bits of exposure to young adulthood, which are often, to put it mildly, grim. Grim Town is the result of Soak’s own experiences with that off-the-rails chaos, set for release on April 26 via Rough Trade.
The album’s announcement comes alongside a new track, “Knock Me Off My Feet,” and a corresponding kaleidoscopic video bursting in primary colors. Its scenes ooze the feeling of suburban ennui, as Soak sings, “You can knock me off my feet / But I won’t stop now / You can take a seat.” She also acknowledges, atop a steadily-pounding drumbeat, the sensation of rapid personal change in an environment that won’t budge – “Maybe it’s all in my brain / People don’t look at me the same.” “Knock Me Off My Feet” is a gritty anthem about resilience and taking the higher path even when everything seems to be urging you otherwise.
About the premise of Grim Town, Soak said,
“…[it’s] a dystopia that I’ve created in my brain: Me on the inside, processed into a pretend location. The way I could wrap my head around a lot of what I was going through was to make it feel like something quite physical and real. Once I had the idea of the album being an actual location, exploring the dynamics of this town and what it would look or sound like felt like the right way to give my mental state a personality.”
Watch the video for “Knock Me Off My Feet” above. Grim Town is out April 26 via Rough Trade. Catch Soak on tour at one of the dates below.
01/30 — New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
02/01 — Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle
02/02 — Washington, DC @ Songbyrd
02/05 — Los Angeles, CA @ Moroccan Lounge
05/06 — Kendal, UK @ Kendal Library
05/10 — Manchester, UK @ Band on the Wall
05/11 — Leeds, UK @ The Wardrobe
05/12 — Glasgow, UK @ King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut
05/14 — Birmingham, UK @ Hare & Hounds
05/15 — Oxford, UK @ O2 Academy Oxford
05/16 — Bristol, UK @ Thekla
05/17 — London, UK @ Islington Assembly Hall
05/19 — Brussels, Belgium @ Botanique -Rotonde
05/20 — Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Bitterzoet
05/22 — Hamburg, Germany @ Prinzebar
05/23 — Berlin, Germany @ Privatclub
05/24 — Cologne, Germany @ Artheater
05/28 — Cork, IE @ Live at St Lukes
05/29 — Limerick, IE @ Dolans
05/30 — Dublin, IE @ Button Factory
05/31 — Derry, UK @ The Glassworks
