SOAK - Grim Town

The Guardian 80

(Rough Trade)

Before Bridie Monds-Watson’s second album properly gets under way, it is anxious to police its potential listenership. Opening with an ominous train announcement welcoming passengers on board a service to the titular locale, it warns that those who are “unmedicated and have salaries or pension plans should vacate the carriage immediately”. This is a journey for the “the lonely, the disenfranchised, the disillusioned, the lost”.

Pitchfork 73

On her second album, the Northern Irish musician graduates from lonesome singer-songwriter to bold art-pop auteur; her growing confidence translates to emotionally probing songs of startling candor.