When walking through the rain-sodden streets of Manchester on a supposed spring evening, it can be easy to see where the inspiration for an album entitled âGrim Townâ eminates from.
Bridie Monds-Watson – aka SOAK – described the title of her 2019 album as being something thatâs âa bit shitâ. She imagines âGrim Townâ to be a place where hope fades and the dreams you once harboured find their final resting place. On evenings like this, Monds-Watsonâs adopted home for the past two years can certainly epitomise these feelings.
It has been a heady rise for SOAK with debut album âBefore We Forgot How to Dreamâ receiving critical acclaim and landing Monds-Watson the honour of being the youngest-ever recipient of a Mercury Prize nomination. Armed with a new record, SOAK has moved from indie-folk origins to almost straight-up pop, but with the foreboding sense that we are all aboard the southbound Lassitude 432 to Grim Town.
Another contemporary making waves on both sides of the Irish Sea is support act Pillow Queens. In a typically energetic set, the four-piece air favourites from 2018âs âState of The Stateâ EP such as âPuppetsâ and a roaring rendition of what is quickly becoming their own anthem, âRatsâ. However, tonightâs warm-up slot presents an opportunity to showcase new material.
Both âHowDoILookâ and âBrothersâ build on the infectious hook-laden tracks familiar from previous EPs, while the previously unaired âLiffeyâ provides a heartfelt ode to their home city (although there was some on-stage debate as to what the actual title was). Ending on the soaring âGay Girlsâ, this short and sweet set has the audience clamouring for a Pillow Queens LP to surface.
The announcement for the Lassitude 432 to Grim Town plays over the speaker system and there is a hushed silence as Monds-Watson introduces SOAKâs evening performance. Dedicating the forthcoming set to Manchesterâs famous LGBTQ club G-A-Y and the delights of Allenâs Fried Chicken on Portland Street, SOAK open with âGet Set Go Kidâ.
Despite every space in Band on the Wall being taken up, there is an almost awe-inspiring quiet with Monds-Watson seducing each audience member. There is a humour and humility about her demeanour, with jokes about the turmoil that comes with being in the middle of her parentsâ divorce.
Her voice echoes through the space with every word being clung onto by those in attendance. The tracks sway from the candy pop dance number of âKnock Me Off My Feetâ to the heartbreaking âValentine Shamalentineâ; âI just wanted to do something nice for Valentineâs Day, once, was that too much to ask?â Monds-Watson jokes.
The airing of latest single âDeja vuâ simply highlights that this is the pop anthem you havenât heard yet, while âYBFTBYTâ sees Monds-Watson jokingly bemoan âthat mate that only smokes when theyâre in a big groupâ. Returning with the delicate piano-led âMissed Callsâ and the tear-inducing âEverybody Loves Youâ merely demonstrates why SOAK is such a critically-acclaimed collective.
Monds-Watsonâs words ââcause Iâm a fucking live wire, and I can light the nightâ float over the audience and, on a night where it’s at its worst, SOAK light up Manchester.
TOM WALSH