Soft Launch - the idiosyncratic Anglo-Irish Art Pop quintet - share latest single, ‘Milkshakes’, a piece of retro-futuristic funk.
Arriving after a triumphant summer of shows and international festivals, which included Rock City, Rock en Seine, All Points East, Reeperbahn and Reading & Leeds, ‘Milkshakes’ is a banger to eke out the final remnants of sun – or as they put it “the song of the summer that we’ve decided to release in September” with a tongue firmly placed in their collective cheeks.
Mixed by Spike Stent, the track is swathed in an expertly executed warm, hazy analogue production. It’s a song for the had-enough crew, the fed-up and emotionally drained who want to stand up in protest to the barrage of external noise and just, well, drink milkshakes.
Listen to ‘Milkshakes’ on F1 Tracks.
Soft Launch are disrupting the traditional boyband tag and have already made significant waves across three single releases this year, ‘Cartwheels’, ‘Piano Hands’ and ‘In My Bed’ – all of which offer up fresh insight into their individualistic musical style. They all write, produce, and deftly interchange instruments on record and at their wildly energetic live gigs. Lead vocals come in various waves from Josh McClorey, Henry Pearce, Conor Price & Ben Quinn, with Limmer steadying The Beach Boys-esque ship.
What’s most impressive is the total trust they have in each other as songwriters. There’s a single body around which these five boys pump their creative blood. Each of them an organ, each of them playing a vital role. There is no self-sacrifice and no self-aggrandising- it’s one gorgeous egoless ecosystem.
Having cut their teeth on the live stage at multiple shows since their debut single ‘Cartwheels’ landed in spring this year, Soft Launch are fast becoming a must see band across the country. It’s fortuitous then, that their debut headline tour started this week in Josh’s hometown in Dublin for a sold out gig at the Academy on October 1. The tour then headed to Glasgow before snaking down to Newcastle tonight and then through the cities of Sheffield, Birmingham all the way south to Brighton, followed by another quick jaunt back up to Nottingham, Liverpool and Bristol before finishing up at The Garage, in London on October 15.
