Soft Plastics have followed up their Taite-nominated debut album with “Drown!”, their first single of the year.
The Wellington trio of Sophie Scott-Maunder, Jonathan Shirley, and Laura Robinson released their debut, Saturn Return, last year, a mesmerising collection of songs that landed in our Best New Zealand Albums of 2023 list.
“A gently beautiful indie rock album,” we called Saturn Return, adding that Soft Plastics “contemplate and capture the swiftly changing moods that define our twenties on their debut album, a collection that deserves to be listened to slowly and often.
“Saturn Return also captures a trio who fully understand each other musically: Jonathan Shirley’s swirling guitar lines frequently shine, as does Laura Robinson’s propelling drumming, but it’s Sophie Scott-Maunder’s stunning, shapeshifting vocals that really leave a lasting impression,” we wrote.
The Taite Music Prize voting academy agreed with us on the quality of Saturn Return, nominating it for Best Independent Debut this year.
Seven months after that nod, Soft Plastics are ready to do it all again. “Drown!” finds the trio exploring similar existential territory to their debut – the tumultuousness of one’s 20s – in engrossing style, anxiety-inducing instrumentation supporting Scott-Maunder’s weary words. (As she did throughout Saturn Return, Scott-Maunder puts on a magnetic lead vocal performance.)
According to the band, “Drown!” is about “that feeling of sinking into life’s monotony, weighed down by dissatisfaction and a growing sense of aimlessness. It’s about the fear of taking the leap to reignite a spark, even when the desire for change becomes overwhelming,”
Soft Plastics’ new single is, regrettably, relatable to the maximum: we’re all currently, in some way, gamely battling to keep our head above the water. Maybe you’re drowning in work, fending off the cost of living crisis, or maybe you’re overwhelmed by a clogged-up social media timeline, fending off relentless bad news.
However you’re feeling up against it, when Soft Plastics’ song breaks out of its purposefully monotonous rhythm and explodes into its frenzied chorus, you’ll feel connected through catharsis. “I’m drowning,” Scott-Maunder cries out, and you’ll probably want to cry out with her, and that’s okay; times are tough, and we all need a fucking release.
“Drown!” is accompanied by a music video directed by Robinson, which was shot in Wellington landmark St Gerard’s Monastery (watch above).
“I wanted the location to feel like we were partying somewhere in Italy. I’m also attracted to period pieces where the architecture isn’t directly from that era. We worked with an art department team to create a ‘spaghetti-sleaze’ makeover,” Robinson explains. “It splits between evocative super 8mm party shots, blue velvet torch singing and questionable corpse revivers.”
It’s unclear if “Drown!” will feature on a new Soft Plastics album, but hopefully they keep channelling their frustrations into more new indie rock anthems.
Soft Plastics’ “Drown!” is out now.
