Review: Soft Play at Magnet House
Soft Play at Magnet House
w/ Coldwave
Saturday, February 1, 2025
Soft Play, formerly known by the less tasteful band name, Slaves, kicked off February this year at Perth’s Magnet House to a heaving crowd of exuberant punk fans. The two-piece hailing from Kent, England, proved that unlike the track title from their 2024 Heavy Jelly album, Punk’s Dead, punk has never been more alive.
The duo were supported by post-punk group Coldwave from Kaurna Land/Adelaide. In 2023, the six-piece group became triple j’s Unearthed Feature Artist, fitting alongside Fontaines DC and Turnstile, who were featured on Laneway Festival’s line-up that year. Onstage, Coldwave brought the punk genre to life, with the sounds of guitar mixing with booming horns to hint at the band’s jazz influences, a fun addition that livened up the set.
Soft Play hit the stage to open with their 2024 single All Things, with the contrarian gospel-esque introduction exploding into aggressive power. The pair then followed up with the biting tongue-in-cheek track Mirror Muscles. While lead singer and drummer Isaac Holman may not be a gym junkie, his penchant for standing whilst beating the drums seemingly keeps him in strong physical form, radiating a raw energy that encapsulates the stamina of the punk genre. Guitarist and back-up vocalist Laurie Vincent wasted no time sharing sweat with the crowd, much to the fans’ delight.
Soft Play mimicked the sounds of metal rock with their track Isaac Is Typing. The song was written about Isaac’s obsessive-compulsive tendencies, which proved that the pair can poke fun at themselves whilst addressing serious topics. Along this line of thought, after the song, Isaac called out to a man in the crowd to stop making the two girls beside him feel uncomfortable, and the crowd cheered in appreciation. Soft Play highlighted how, despite the loud and seemingly aggressive nature of punk music, the culture has generally been known to be a safe and inclusive space for all music lovers. Indeed, Soft Play later asked the crowd to allow for the girls to create a pit in the centre of the crowd, with a message to “Respect the space, boys, thank you.”
The “liberal lefties” proceeded to play Punk’s Dead, a song that drew attention to stickler hardcore punks that perhaps don’t appreciate that music should be inclusive and that musicians have the right to experiment and express their values. On the topic of values and personal choices, the lads showed their disdain for vaping, asking the crowd, “Who’s sucking on a vape here? Show yourselves.” They followed up cheekily with their track Act Violently.
Isaac then introduced himself to the crowd by joining the crowd, mingling with the sweaty, often shirtless fans, joking, “Why are there only two band members?” He then answered for himself, saying, “No one else wanted to fucking join!” Isaac continued joking, “Where’s the bassist? Where’s the hi-hat? Fuck the hi-hat! Repeat after me, Fuck the hi-hat!” The crowd hilariously and enthusiastically obliged, repeating the phrase over and over.
Laurie’s guitar screamed as the pair played the punchy track Girl Fight, followed up by Spit It Out, with the band’s sounds amplified through the incredible mix of vocals, drums and electric guitar. However, Laurie softened the sound with a melodic harmony to complement Isaac’s gruff yells when singing Worms On The Tarmac. Laurie also hilariously altered his voice to mimic what a cartoon worm might sound like if they could speak, and he nailed it.
The boys continued to play hits, singing John Wick, a song influenced by Keanu Reeves’s famous character in the film franchise. They embodied Wick’s anger in the song at his misfortunes (including his puppy being killed) with the single condensing into a seething hot thrashing of sound for one minute and twenty seconds. Indeed, killing puppies is a hard no, given the violent sounds of the track.
Isaac stepped away from the drums to soften the previous rage-filled songs, belting out the ballad Everything and Nothing, a tribute song to the band’s rough times, which included losing their friend Bailey and Laurie’s girlfriend, who battled cancer. The emotive tune got the crowd swaying and singing along as Laurie strummed the mandolin.
Soft Play ended the set by performing The Hunter from their 2015 album Are You Satisfied?, and the crowd roared along with the boys, “YOU KEEP IT, WE DON’T WANT IT!” An interaction from earlier came to mind, which included a perfectly styled high-heeled woman saying, “Ooh, what’s happening there?” to a corporate, clean-cut man, who replied, “That’s where they’re playing angry music.” Disappointingly, those people didn’t appreciate punk ethos and its roots in culture—they’re missing out.
Laurie signalled the end of the show by throwing his guitar to the side of the stage, and Soft Play concluded another brilliant set, leaving the crowd with the epic sounds of punk ringing in their ears.
KYRA SHENNAN
Photos by Stu McKay
