Soak – Golden Dawn (Concert Review)

18-year-old Irish up-and-comer Soak played a short but spellbinding set at Auckland’s Golden Dawn. And in a little over half an hour she indeed proved to be an artist to keep an eye on.

Soak is the stage name for Bridie Monds-Watson, the teenager from Derry who has garnered attention from the likes of the BBC, The Guardian and Stereogum on the strength of just a handful of released tracks. Her first album, Before We Forgot How To Dream, is due out on June 1^st.

But the crowd at The Golden Dawn were treated to an intimate introduction to the young singer-songwriter with the venue’s Matthew Crawley reminding patrons how lucky they were to be seeing her in such small quarters…”the next time will be at The Powerstation or the Bruce Mason Centre”.

He also politely urged the more talkative members of the audience to “shut the fuck up”.

While it was a good idea, it was hardly necessary, as the ethereal sound of Soak’s echo-laden electric guitar immediately cast a spell over the crowd, leaving them hanging on every word.

Some of those words were a bit difficult to decipher, given her accent, but the message got through none the less. These are introspective, contemplative songs, sung with a fragile, child-like voice.

“My name’s Soak, like a bathtub”, she announced.

She then introduced Sea Creatures, “a song about whales”.

“I love whales!” came a voice from the audience…it was that kind of night.

“I like you guys already”, she replied after the song.

The feeling was mutual.

The 7-song set featured an untitled new tune along with Shovels…”I wrote when I was 16”, and Blud, written after overhearing her parents arguing when she was 14.

The 35-minute set closed with Oh Brother with the young entertainer proving that she has learned one of the basic tenants of show business….leave them wanting more.

Marty Duda

Soak set list:

1. Explosions
2. Sea Creatures
3. Untitled
4. B A Nobody
5. Shovels
6. Blud
7. Oh Brother