Soft Play, formerly Slaves, have dropped ‘Everything And Nothing’ – the heartfelt latest single from their upcoming album. Check it out below.
Shared today (June 4), the track follows on the previously released ‘Punk’s Dead’, ‘Mirror Muscles’ and ‘Act Violently’, and is set to feature alongside them on their upcoming fourth studio album ‘Heavy Jelly’. Arriving on July 19, it marks their first LP under their new band name and first long form project in over six years.
The track sees the band – comprised of both Isaac Holman and Laurie Vincent –take a more intense and open approach than ever before, and step away from the sound that fans would most commonly expect from them.
Unlike the aforementioned ‘Act Violently’, with ‘Everything And Nothing’ the feel of the track is underpinned by the emotive mandolin and violin melodies. At its core, it sees Holman take inspiration from the loss of one of his friends, and put forward a sense of vulnerability rarely seen by the duo.
That being said, the band insist that it isn’t a token ballad on the LP, but rather some of their most raw, uncompromising and vulnerable work to date.
“I started writing the words in lockdown in the depths of a mental health breakdown. My good mate Bailey had just passed away, Laurie had not long lost his partner, Emma to cancer,” Holman said of the inspiration for the single.
“It was one thing after the next. I got to the line about Bailey and couldn’t for the life of me think of what to say next, so I left it where it was.
“3 years later (last year) I went round to Laurie’s and he had just got this mandolin, we laid down the instrumental and I remembered I had these words in the notes on my phone,” he added. “Laurie asked me what it was about and I was having trouble explaining it, then he said ‘So it’s just like everything and nothing’. We demoed the tune and took it to the studio (lyrics still unfinished). During that stint, I kept seeing people that looked like Bailey, which unlocked the next line of the tune and allowed the rest to come out.’’
Vincent added: “These past few years have been really hard for so many people. The song and video encapsulate the journeys we’ve all been on: loss, love, rebirth, it’s the cycle of life. Raw pain and bitter beauty.”
The track also comes alongside a music video that celebrates Bailey’s life. Check it out above.
Physical formats of the album include CD, black vinyl, a signed CD exclusive to HMV, and a limited green vinyl that’s only available via the band’s official store and select indie retailers. You can pre-order/pre-save the album here.
SoftPlay ‘Heavy Jelly’ album artwork. Credit: PRESS
Earlier this year, Soft Play spoke to NME about their name change, and revealed that the decision to retire the name Slaves was partly inspired by a conversation they had with Bob Vylan vocalist Bobby due to the perceived racial insensitivity of the name.
“He basically said we were one of his favourite bands but he wouldn’t wear our merch,” explained Holman. “If he felt uncomfortable about liking us, there must be others who feel the same way,” offered Vincent.
In their statement, the band wrote that they had previously “responded to criticism of the name from a place of fear and defensiveness” and they were “scared” of what would happen if they changed it because of how much their identity was tied to the name. “It took years of therapy to see past that,” Vincent told NME.
In other news, the duo are set to play a string of live shows this summer including The Great Escape, Download Festival and Yungblud Fest. You can visit here to purchase tickets.
The post Soft Play share emotive new single ‘Everything And Nothing’ appeared first on NME.
