Soak: Irish singer on new album and coming out as non-binary
Soak is about a to release a new album, If I Never Know You Like This Again.
Every teenage prodigy stops being a teenager eventually. They usually stop being regarded as a prodigy too. Which is when the problems can start, says Bridie Monds-Watson, aka acclaimed singer-songwriter Soak.
“I hit a wall. When you’re in your twenties, there’s such pressure on you to have everything solved. And to have the future [planned out] out very clearly. And I didn't think I had any of my shit together.”
Monds-Watson is explaining the song Purgatory, the heart-breaking opening number on the striking new album, If I Never Know You Like This Again.
“Days avalanche me / Another year flees the scene,” goes one line, as Pixies-style guitars growl and yammer. “I won't shake hands with the end / But it's breathing down my neck.”
As a 16-year-old, Monds-Watson was hailed the future of Irish music, with everyone from the NME to the BBC lining up to laud the Derry artist’s 2015 debut LP Before We Forgot How to Dream. The project’s “wistful charm” was praised by Pitchfork; the Guardian heralded Monds-Watson’s “cocooning, husky voice”.
Seven years later, Soak is still here and with a career that continues to go from strength to strength. However, the stardom some had predicted has not yet arrived. And because Monds-Watson is a human being, there has been some struggle in this story.
“It was mainly about the pressure of time, the pressure of expectation. Trying to figure out where you stand in the world,” says the singer, delving into the inspirations for Purgatory. “And where you'd like to stand in the world. All while not wanting to waste any time."
"Only now, with this record, does it feel I know what I’m doing or know what I truly have to say.”
The past few years have been challenging in other ways. A few years ago, Monds-Watson, who has a Dublin girlfriend, came out as non-binary and favours the pronouns they/them. Every artist approaches these issues in their own way: speaking to the Irish Examiner recently Kae Tempest said going public as trans was difficult because they were sharing such a personal part of themselves with the world. For Soak the process was no less challenging.
“Publicly I've always been very open about being queer. I grew up in a setting where that was supported and acceptable – in my family and my friend groups,” says Monds-Watson.
“[But] for me to come to terms with where I felt on the gender spectrum was difficult. I realised I had a lot of really repressed feelings about that. And internalised transphobia, I suppose. It was a big process for me to work that out for myself personally. And then to say it publicly – it definitely took a lot of time to process those thoughts and feelings. Only through being transparent about it have I come to meet more people I can resonate with.”
As anyone who has been within 15 yards of social media will know trans rights have become a source of heated online “discourse”. For Monds-Watson the best way of dealing with this “debate” is to just step away from Twitter, which is, after all, designed to harness and monetise our rage. Without conflict and people picking sides, those revenue streams would dry up.
“They want us on our phones. And they want us fighting each other. That’s the way algorithms work. Which I think is genuinely evil. I don't know: you could get wrapped up in it. I think you'd be wasting your time. I'm here for healthy discussions and whatever means by which they can be done. For the majority of online stuff, it’s a bit mindless. People just want likes. They don't care what they say – the likes of Joe Rogan and stuff like that. If I wanted to work myself up I could spend a lot of time online. I try to avoid it.”
As a touring artist, the pandemic was a challenge. But rather than sink into a funk, Monds-Watson’s new album feels like a thrilling, shin-kicking gesture of defiance against the torpor of lockdown. Recorded in Donegal last year, If I Never Know You Like This Again unfolds as zinging valentine to 1990s indie rock, recalling at varying moments Kim Deal, My Bloody Valentine and Ash.
“We absolutely loved making it. We started after a year of lockdown,” says Soak. “Everyone was so relieved to be in the same room, playing together, seeing each other and making music. There was so much joy in us all being back together. I hoped our joy was captured in the album.”
One subject about which Monds-Watson is very much outspoken is that of gender balance in Irish music. According to a 2020 report, female artists comprise just 7 per cent of domestic acts played on Irish radio – a bias that has consequences for ticket sales for concerts and for headline slots at festivals.
“That’s so f**** up to be honest,” says Monds-Watson of the airplay imbalance. “If you are 99 per cent male playlists, people hear that on public radio, then they buy the tickets, they support the artists, they go to the shows. How does anybody have a fair chance if they won’t even let us begin with the basics?”
It isn’t just about fairness. It’s about acknowledging the quality of female and non-binary artists.
“And honestly, there’s so many incredible, diverse musicians and bands in Ireland from across the spectrum of gender expression and sexuality. We’re in an impressive time for it.
They’re not doing themselves any favours and they’re not doing anyone else any favours. It’s shitty and it makes you lose a bit of hope and faith in the country as well. If you’re not being supported at the foundations of music, what can you expect?”
Monds-Watson is currently touring with indie star Lucy Daucus. After that come solo dates in Limerick and Dublin at the end of the month. Meanwhile, another big headache centres around a planned move to the capital. This is proving fraught with affordable accommodation in the capital scarcer than ever.
“I was in England for four years. I moved back to Derry last summer. Ever since, my girlfriend and I have been trying to find a place in Dublin. You know how it is: pretty impossible. We’re still trying. It’s horrible. And the thing is, I’m not even from Dublin. I wanted to move back to Ireland. I just missed Irish people. And Dublin is the ideal place for me to live. I can’t imagine being from Dublin and [not being able to rent]. It’s tragic.”
- If I Never Know You Like This Again is released May 20
