8/10

In the wake of their stunning breakthrough debut album 'Before We Forgot How To Dream' in 2015, Northern Irish singer and songwriter Bridie Monds-Watson found themselves riding a wave of praise and acclaim that almost seemed never ending. Dubbed as the future of British bedroom-pop music, their sophomore collection 'Grim Town' continued this vibrant trend in 2019, offering a more dynamic direction to their guise. And after a few more years of figuring out their next move, they return with the third studio album 'If I Never Know You Like This Again', a record that looks to reach a peak of creativity so far.

Moving further away from the lo-fi folk aesthetic that littered their earlier work, 'If I Never Know You Like This Again' sees the artist develop into a rawer and more textured entity. Bringing a deep and atmospheric production behind them almost every step of the way, it feels like their songwriting has been moulded into a bigger and more expressive avenue, focusing more on the passionate emotion throughout. It creates this wonderfully rich and vivid world for us all to explore, and lends a new and interesting angle to what they have produced so far.

While it is certainly a bold step forward in musical evolution for the artist, 'If I Never Know You Like This Again' still maintains plenty of captivating tones and textures as it plays. Breaking out of that conventional singer-songwriter shell, SOAK is growing into something far more adventurous that really highlights the power within their words.