M(h)aol
Something Soft
Merge Records [2025]
“M(h)aol sharpen their sound and cut deeper than ever—Something Soft lands like a punch wrapped in poetry.”
Album Overview: M(h)aol formed in Ireland during the 2010s with a mission built on activism and punk urgency. Their early work—like the Gender Studies EP—tackled feminist issues head-on, challenging norms with fierce intent. After their 2023 debut Attachment Styles, lineup changes condensed the group to its core trio: drummer/vocalist Constance Keane, producer/guitarist Jamie Hyland, and guitarist Sean Nolan. Still rooted in a hands-on, DIY approach (Keane also co-founded the women-led label TULLE), the band brings that same raw drive into their second full-length, Something Soft. Don’t let the title fool you—this record is anything but gentle. It pulses with emotional urgency, taking on identity, loss, and institutional failure while making space for moments of joy and connection. Vulnerability and defiance aren’t at odds here—they work in tandem, pushing each track forward with fierce intention.
Musical Style: Something Soft thrives in tension. The sound is stripped back but hits like a gut punch—tight rhythms, cutting guitar lines, and vocals that blur the line between inner monologue and rallying cry. The music sits somewhere between post-punk and noise rock but leaves plenty of room for groove, clarity, and chaos to coexist. This is minimalism with muscle.
Evolution of Sound: Where Attachment Styles (2023) felt like a live wire, this album plays more with space and structure. Recorded at Ailfionn Studio in Dublin, Something Soft brings in more sonic contrast—moments of silence, feedback swells, and subtle builds make the loud parts hit even harder. There’s more breathing room here, more pacing, but none of the intensity is lost. If anything, the restraint makes the eruptions more impactful.
Artists with Similar Fire: M(h)aol will strike a chord with anyone into Gilla Band, The Slits, Lambrini Girls, Wet Leg, or Big Joanie. There’s also a dose of Dry Cleaning’s spoken-word bite, Savages’ precision, and the raw honesty of early Sleater-Kinney. This is music that values friction, clarity, and sharp edges.
Pivotal Tracks: “Pursuit” is a surge of adrenaline—tight, breathless, and bracing. “Snare” struts with swagger, dismantling industry misogyny with cold precision. “1800-Call-Me-Back” builds a chant into something layered and hypnotic, especially with actual phone touch tones helping to keep the beat. “I Miss My Dog” takes simple grief and turns it into a wall of sound that’s raw and cathartic. Each track reveals a different side of the band, but together they form a unified punch to the chest.
Lyrical Strength: Keane’s lyrics are unfiltered and honest, often shifting between deeply personal reflections and pointed cultural critique. She captures quiet moments—an awkward silence, a tense walk home—and cracks them open to reveal something much bigger. Whether she’s angry, grieving, or just taking up space, her voice is never less than commanding.
Final Groove: Something Soft is a bold evolution for M(h)aol—sharper, deeper, and more focused than anything they’ve done before. It’s an album that understands the power of restraint and the weight of every pause, letting space between notes do just as much damage as the noise. Every listen reveals something new, and its impact only grows with repeat plays. M(h)aol aren’t softening up—they’re sharpening their edge, and they’re not done cutting yet.
M(H)AOL LINKS
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