UK punk group SOFT PLAY made a life-affirming comeback last year with the release of their acclaimed album HEAVY JELLY; and today, have released their expanded vision of the record with HEAVIER JELLY. Adding six new tracks to the original LP – the duo’s highest charting to date, which landed at #3 in the UK charts – HEAVIER JELLY further evolves the record’s mosaic of raging punk, nu-metal attacks, and slamming hardcore that unexpectedly possesses the warmth of an embrace from an old friend. Along with its release across streaming services, physical formats of HEAVIER JELLY, including orange vinyl and CD, are now available exclusively from SOFT PLAY’s official store.
HEAVIER JELLY is led by the new single ‘Slushy’ featuring Kate Nash, a rampaging proto-punk-meets-garage-rock track that sees Nash relishing trading sweetly savage call-and-response barbs with the band’s Isaac Holman. First premiering via BBC 6Music last month, the track has since caught the attention of Rolling Stone, Alternative Press, Under The Radar, Northern Transmissions, Kerrang!, NME, DIY Magazine, The Line of Best Fit and more.
The new songs that construct HEAVIER JELLY were recorded during the original album sessions – and others, the product of more recent studio visits. But this isn’t a mere outtakes collection. Each song was in serious contention for the original record and was omitted only because of moods or genres that would’ve felt out of place: see the Irish folk-influenced celebration-of-friends that is ‘Heavy Jelly’, the leftfield hip-hop of ‘Take Me To The Tip’, and the sax, spoken word and twisted big beat experiment of ‘Chairman of the Council’. Meanwhile, ‘Flip ‘em The Bird’ and ‘Green Lamborghini’ more than match the ‘HEAVY JELLY’ attack, but some things had to be sacrificed to allow it to be the monstrous 30-minute short-sharp-shock that it is. The result was HEAVIER JELLY: a broader, stranger and expansive alternative to the punchy thrills of the original.
“These songs are the bastard children of Heavy Jelly, strange experimentations/ delusions that didn’t fit the mould,” adds SOFT PLAY’s Laurie Vincent. “I’m excited for our fans to get a glimpse into some more music that came from the world of Heavy Jelly. Strap in.”
And of the newly shared title track ‘Heavy Jelly’ specifically, Laurie continued: ‘’It’s an abstract ballad, an ode to the record itself. It didn’t sit right amongst the original tracklisting but it was too special not to release.’’
SOFT PLAY’s momentum shows no signs of slowing down as their big year of touring has only continued to pick up steam. The band kicked off their first North American tour since 2018 last week, delivering a break-neck weekend-one performance at Coachella Festival before playing several sold-out shows as special guests to Kneecap earlier this week. Their performance at the festival was even dubbed one of the most memorable moments at Coachella by both The Los Angeles Times, who hailed it as “a beautifully chaotic punk set,” and OC Register, who said “there is just something so special about sharing good times with your friends on stage, and English punk rock duo Soft Play knows how to have fun.”
To celebrate the release of HEAVIER JELLY, SOFT PLAY will be playing an intimate in-store performance at the famed Licorice Pizza Records in Los Angeles tonight, before returning to the desert for a highly anticipated set at weekend 2 of Coachella this Sunday. Coming up, the band will embark on several headline gigs including two already-sold-out dates in Brooklyn and Toronto before traveling back to the UK & EU Summer for a mix of international festivals, sprawling outdoor shows, and dates with IDLES, The Libertines and Slipknot this summer. The latter will mark their first since their sold-out UK tour in 2024, including a raucous Halloween headline date at Brixton Academy, and a successful run of shows in Australia. See below for a rundown of all upcoming dates:
Soft Play – 2025 Tour Dates
April 13th – Coachella Music & Arts Festival
April 14th – Denver, CO – Summit SOLD-OUT ^
April 15th – Salt Lake City, UT – Depot ^
April 17th – Pomona, CA – The Glass House SOLD-OUT ^
April 18th – Los Angeles, CA – Licorice Pizza Records SOLD-OUT *
April 20th – Coachella Music & Arts Festival
April 22nd – Chicago, IL – Bottom Lounge *
April 24th – Toronto, Canada – The Axis Club SOLD-OUT *
April 26th – Boston, MA – The Sinclair *
April 27th – Brooklyn, NY – Elsewhere Hall SOLD-OUT *
May 23rd – The Hague, Sniester Festival, NETHERLANDS
May 24th – Amsterdam, Pretty Pissed Festival, , NETHERLANDS
June 6th – Nürnberg, Rock Am Ring, GERMANY
June 8th – Rock Im Park, Zepplinfield, GERMANY
June 13th – Firenze, Florence Rocks, ITALY
June 17th – Ferrara, Ferrara Festival (with Slipknot), ITALY
June 19th – Clisson, Hellfest, FRANCE
June 21st – Landgraaf, Pinkpop Festival, NETHERLANDS
June 23rd – Berlin, Waldbühne, (with Slipknot), GERMANY
June 27th-29th – Airport Tábor, Mighty Sounds Festival, CZECH REPUBLIC
July 5th – Margate, Dreamland (with The Libertines), UK
July 17th-19th – Benicàssim, SPAIN
July 19th – Dublin, The Iveagh Gardens (with The Murder Capital), IRELAND
August 1st – Bristol, Queens Square (with IDLES), UK
August 3rd – Mysłowice, OFF Festival, POLAND
August 8th-10th – Buftea, Summer Well Festival, ROMANIA
August 9th – London, Gunnersbury Park (with The Libertines), UK
August 29th – Reading Festival, UK
August 30th – Leeds Festival, UK
September 20th – Atlanta, GA – Shaky Knees Festival
October 23rd – Birmingham, AL – Furnace Fest
^ Supporting Kneecap (USA)
* Headlining (USA)
