Album review: SOFT PLAY – HEAVY JELLY

Defiance is a good look for the second act in a band’s career. After three Top 10 albums in less than half a decade, Isaac Holman and Laurie Vincent stepped back from music to deal with bereavement and mental health issues. Many probably thought the duo were done, not least the men themselves. HEAVY JELLY, though, is a pie in the face to the doubters, with everything that made The Artists Formerly Known As Slaves a compelling prospect wholly reinvigorated.

Spiky humour still dominates, with topics of discussion ranging from the comically mundane (Bin Juice Disaster) through street-level irritations (Act Violently) to online arguments (Isaac Is Typing…). Those who criticised the duo’s name change to SOFT PLAY come in for a hilarious pasting on Punk’s Dead; as if getting Robbie Williams in for guest vocals wasn’t sufficient trolling, real comments are read out underlaid by the sound of a crying baby.

The thing is, SOFT PLAY have actually got harder. Amongst HEAVY JELLY’s ingredients are a pronounced nu-metal influence, with Mirror Muscles betraying a youth spent listening to Korn, and Act Violently sounding like the verses of Chop Suey! as performed by a couple of geezers from Kent. This all works alongside the hip-hop inflection that’s always been present in Isaac’s vocals, though of course we’re talking the likes of Mike Skinner rather than Snoop or Ice Cube.

But perhaps the most defiant thing the duo pull off on HEAVY JELLY is the album’s closer, the almost folky Everything And Nothing, a moving tribute to lost loved ones that reveals a hitherto unsuspected ability to harness a wider emotional spectrum. It’s the crowning glory of a comeback that delivers beyond all expectation.

Verdict: 4/5

For fans of: Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, IDLES, SNAYX

HEAVY JELLY is released on July 19 via BMG

Read this: SOFT PLAY: “We need to do this together… the magic of our band is both of us”