After first coming to our attention at the beginning of the year, SOAK has really taken off. Coming such a long way since the tender age of sixteen, when she first graced the UK music scene, SOAK came to Australia for a short and sweet tour in April. After playing two shows in Sydney and one in Melbourne, her Australian fans were able to see the young Irish singer with an angelic yet raw voice live and in the flesh. Now she is at it again with the release of her debut album, Before We Forget How To Dream through Remote Control Records.
Irish folk lass SOAK dreams a beautiful folk dream on her debut LP. Bridie Watson pours her soul into the thoughtful Before We Forget How To Dream.
When she sat down with Triple J’s Linda Marigliano whilst in Australia, SOAK spoke about the album and how it had all come together. She described the album as an “Odd documentary diary of her life for the last five years”. After listening to Before We Forget How To Dream, you’re easily able to see how the eighteen year old in fact created more than just a bunch of songs that she slapped together to simply form an album, but took the time to immerse herself in the creative process. This is a peek inside the life of Bridie Watson and it is this openness that propels the album.
Blud is not just a song but a tragic story about a family’s struggle through the stresses of work, expectations and their love for each other. SOAK’s expert lyricism, which is perfect through its simplicity, takes the listener on this journey. Through her lyrics “Quit your employment, we can live without it if it means you will not suffer… The shouting’s dampened by the ceiling… you’re in my blood, I’m in your blood… let’s just forget” she has encapsulated the pain and anguish felt when faced with this situation. Expertly composed.
Provided the most diverse element is Garden, which is the most upbeat piece to the album. A tango of drums and guitar are really prominent within the song which provides a nice play on tempo to help round out and complete the track. It’s a very welcomed addition and by SOAK situating it about half way through the album enables her to keep hold of her listeners and propel them into the second half of Before We Forget How to Dream.
Shuvels is one of the most atmospheric pieces on the album. With nothing other than a guitar musically featured, the track is quite slow in its tempo. This is a piece which is perfect for completely immersing yourself in so if you have noise cancelling headphones, please do yourself a favour. Go and grab them and put this track on. You can thank us later!
