M(h)aol talk new album, Something Soft // Peeled Back

M(h)aol have undergone a reset in recent times. Following the launch of their debut album, Attachment Styles, the lineup shrunk from five to three. Returning to the core trio of Connie Keane, Jamie Hyland and Sean Nolan. This meant that for their follow-up, the Irish band had to reintroduce themselves.

The result is Something Soft, an album that’s anything but. It harnesses the new iteration and embraces the new energy greatly. Creating a sound that’s much more biting and immediate than its predecessor. With songs that range from heavy, emotional topics to more light-hearted in jokes, the album highlights the close-knit bond of the trio, and the power that comes from facing adversity once again.

We had the pleasure of asking Connie and Sean some questions about the new album, as well as the new dynamic and how that shifted following the line-up changes. A huge thank you to them for taking the time!

Hey M(h)aol! How’s it going? Connie: We’re just over a week out from the record release and I’m feeling surprisingly chill. 

What can you tell us about your new album, Something Soft? Sean: It’s out on May 16th, it has a cat on the front cover and a dog on the back.

From the first few moments of ‘Pursuit’, it’s clear that it’s anything but soft. What made you decide on that as the title? C: Sean actually came up with the title. It’s from the song ‘Snare’, which is about men questioning why I don’t play a “softer” instrument than the drums. I enjoy the juxtaposition of the title of the record with how most of it sounds. I think also we have a view of softness as weakness, where as to me I often think that softness is being in touch with the world around you, which is generally what I write songs about. 

Did it influence the sound you wanted to create for it? S: For this one we only decided on the title after everything was recorded (or near to) so the name was more chosen to fit the music, which we feel it does in a ‘not-too-ironic’ kind of way. 

The line-up returned to the core trio following the release of Attachment Styles. Did that change the approach you had for the new album? Did it feel like you had to reintroduce yourselves as a three? C: Yeah I was pretty nervous about singing and drumming. It’s not something I had done much of before, and it was definitely a learning curve for me. I’m finding it really exciting now though, and I’m interested to see how my approach will then develop for the next record. 

The album has an even split between songs procured from in-jokes and humour – ‘Vin Diesel’ and ‘E8/N16’ – but also heavier emotions and experiences (‘You Are Temporary…). Was there a conscious effort to maintain a balance across the eleven tracks? C: I wanted the record to maintain a level of humour we’ve always had with our music. 

You usually operate under tight time constraints, but got to record the album at Dublin’s Ailfionn Studio, which gave you extra space and equipment to use. How much did that affect the recording process? If any? S: It sounds slightly ridiculous but because we tend to record as much of the songs as possible in “live” takes, it’s not always possible to pick up on the specifics of what everyone is playing and how those pieces are interacting. Having the studio set up and being able to separate and hear individual parts as we worked definitely gave us more scope to make adjustments and changes as we went. 

‘1800-Call-Me-Back’ started initially as a joke about writing a football chant. Could we see more chants created in future? S: Almost certainly.

What was it like having Pixie Cut Rhythm’s Sarah Deegan contribute to the album? C: We were so lucky to have her with us for it. She had previously filled in on bass for a few shows a few years ago, so we already knew that we love playing with her. 

Since the line-up change, you’ve had to take on the duties of creating videos and artwork for merch etc. Did that make things more DIY for yourselves? Would you continue doing it that way? S: We like the idea of doing as much ‘in house’ as possible, both in terms of having creative control and also for financial reasons. I’d expect that we will continue on doing the majority ourselves but we’re certainly not opposed to collaborating with other artists as well. 

You’ll be joining Black Country, New Road on their tour in September. How does that feel? C: They’re very sweet and I’m excited to share the stage with them. 

Something Soft is a brilliant record. It holds the foundations of groove that lived within Attachment Styles, but allows everything surrounding it to let loose. Each song feels like it could erupt at any moment, adding a sense of tension across the album that really locks you into it. The honesty inside the lyrics makes it easier to connect to, feeling like it’s easy to relate to each band member too. Understanding the struggle and turmoil they experienced and how it shaped them as people, as well as musically too.

Punk and Post-Punk have had a resurgence in recent years, and this album deserves to be recognised as another reason why this year is particularly good. M(h)aol have proven that even unexpected circumstances can lead to good results.

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And finally, what’s your favourite fruit? C: Maybe lemon, but we often have a conversation within the band of which fruit each of us would be. I would be a grapefruit. 

S: Pineapple but I think I’m an apple.