Blog Post
The SoapGirls - 'In My Skin'
Craig McLaren • 20 July 2022
Album Review
From the opening bars of 'Breathe', our intro into the world of 'In My Skin', you can tell this is going to take the roof off on their European Tour, and what a way to crack into your 5th long player. The immediate feeling you get from this album is one that takes that early 90's punk and post-punk flavour and brings it right forwards into the new era. A fine recipe for taking a decent slice of the modern genre.
Melody is certainly the focus which shines through in vocal lines that are intricately layered and intertwined with each other. Each harmony is pushed with purpose and not just thrown in there as a foregone fling because they had access to Pro-Tools which freshly conveys that they love what they do, and they do it well.
What you get is 14 tracks that, whilst written with the same well sharpened pencil, offer a very diverse experience right up to the closing bars of final track 'Kill Breed'. There is clever and sparing use of extras on the guitar tracks to keep interest high and backup such a strong vocal flourish. This is more than a string of 2 minute assaults on your senses, these folks check the vintage on your bottle of wine before swiping it and downing it in front of you.
‘Wasted’, ‘Heart in Bloom’ and ‘Broken Melody’ offer some personal high points alongside the opening track which also stir in some elements of bands like Smashing Pumpkins into the vibe. The band has been touring the record since it’s release in June with dates continuing into early August so there’s only a little while longer to catch them here in the UK for the full experience.
‘In My Skin’ is chock full of well crafted songs with a lot of thought going into the direction of each, with just enough spit and punk tat hanging off for good measure.