Album Review SOAK - If I Never Know You Like This Again

SOAK’s third outing sees the Irish songwriter once again working with collaborator and fellow ‘guitar nerd’ Tommy McLaughlin. The resulting ten tracks take their cues from ‘90s alt-rock’s more mellow side, ebbing and flowing between reflection and immediacy. There’s the powerful, drum-filled opening of ‘Last July’; ‘Bleach’ and ‘Get Well Soon’, which both deftly juxtapose bright sounds with introspective lyricism; before the cinematic ‘Pretzel’. There’s a strong sense of vulnerability that shines through much of ‘If I Never Know You Like This Again’. For anyone who’s long fallen for the Derry native’s charms, third time’s a winner - for anyone who finds comfort in revelling in stripped-back melancholy, it’s a dream.