M(h)aol announce their new album ‘Something Soft’ out 16th May via Merge Records, as well as sharing new single ‘DM:AM’ which premiered via BBC 6 Music’s Huw Stephens.
Based in Dublin, Belfast, and London, Constance Keane (She/Her), Jamie Hyland (She/Her), and Sean Nolan (He/Him), have built a reputation for thrilling live performances, fostering an atmosphere that encourages community and catharsis regardless of where they play. Signing to Merge Records after their outstanding SXSW set, ‘Something Soft’ is their first release with the esteemed label.
From the first note of ‘Something Soft’s’ opening track to the distorted cries of its last, the record feels antagonistic to the very concept of softness, sonically and thematically. It’s an unapologetic approach to intersectional feminism, animal welfare, consumerism, and the struggle to find a place in a world lacking in empathy.
Speaking of new single ‘DM:AM’, the band say “This song is about men DM’ing women online and then getting aggressive when they don’t get the response they want. They quickly turn to insults about the women, and then once the woman says she’ll expose what they’ve done, she gets a laundry list of reasons why he behaves like this and how much he has to lose, which is meant to make the women feel sorry for them.”
Check the video out, below:
‘Something Soft’ features a more urgent sound wound tightly around Hyland and Keane’s rhythm. On the already released singles ‘Pursuit’ and ‘Snare’, Keane’s vocals lock in on her drums, as if her words were stirred to life by her playing, issued directly from her body. Set against those respectively anxious and swaggering tracks, her voice occupies the space of an inner monologue narrating a tense walk home, and green room misogyny from a place of droll observance.
Like its predecessors ‘Attachment Styles’ and the ‘Gender Studies’ EP released via TULLE, ‘Something Soft’ was recorded by Jamie Hyland (who has also worked with Gilla Band, Lambrini Girls’ acclaimed debut, The Psychotic Monks). It is the most technically nimble of M(h)aol’s recordings to date, with the band – joined by Pixie Cut Rhythm Orchestra’s Sarah Deegan on bass – decamping to Dublin’s Ailfionn Studio where they took advantage of the space and studio equipment to bring more nuance to their sound.
The polish serves to highlight M(h)aol’s roguish charms, making the intimate feel anthemic, using personal experience to detail the broader systems we live under. For those who’ve come to recognise themselves in their songs, listening to ‘Something Soft’ is like jumping into a long-running chat thread, full of fury and humour.
Preorder the album here
Tracklisting
- Pursuit
- I Miss My Dog
- You Are Temporary, But the Internet Is Forever
- DM:AM
- E8/N16
- Vin Disel
- Clementine
- Snare
- IBS
- 1800-Call-Me-Back
- Coda
Tour Dates
9 March – TV Eye, NYC
11 March – 12 March – SXSW, Austin
15 March – Permanent Records Roadhouse, LA
17 March – The Vera Project – Seattle
16 May – The George Tavern, London
18 May – Le Botaniques, Brussels
28 May – The Black Box, Belfast (w/ Cola & Junk Drawer)
29 May – Sandinos, Derry (w/ Cola & Junk Drawer)
30 May – The Roisin Dubh, Galway (w/ Cola & Junk Drawer)
31 May – Kasbah Social Club, Limerick (w/ Cola & Junk Drawer)
1 June – Coughlans, Cork (w/ Cola & Junk Drawer)
2 June – Coughlans, Cork (w/ Cola & Junk Drawer)
3 June – Luca Records and Decks, Waterford (w/ Cola & Junk Drawer)
4 June – Whelan’s, Dublin (w/ Cola & Junk Drawer)
