8/10

Filip Clements' debut album 'Soft Apocalypse' arrives with colour, scale and a real sense of intent, balancing brooding indie-rock with soaring pop hooks and moments of genuine emotional vulnerability.

Across the record, he sounds increasingly comfortable pushing in several directions at once. ‘Right Place Wrong Time’ carries the reckless rush of festival-ready indie, ‘Typhoon’ channels tension into something urgent and immediate, while ‘Fever Dream’ leans into a more atmospheric, widescreen mood. Then there's ‘Weightless’, which brings a welcome burst of release, allowing the album to open out into something brighter and more euphoric.

And it's that range that is one of the record’s biggest strengths. 'Soft Apocalypse' never feels locked into one version of the artist at the helm. Instead, it moves between confidence and doubt, darkness and optimism, intimacy and scale with remarkable ease.

The production also gives those shifts real impact. Recorded at Eastcote Studios with collaborators including Catherine Marks, Martin Terefe and Tord Knudsen, the album has the energy of musicians playing in a room together, with muscular drums, crisp bass and guitars that are given plenty of space to soar. Around that live core, the more polished elements bring a contemporary edge without sanding away the personality.

It's an approach that makes 'Soft Apocalypse' feel like much more than a promising introduction. It's an album with real breadth, packed with moments that feel built for crowded rooms while still retaining enough detail to reward closer listening.

Bold, melodic and full of possibility, 'Soft Apocalypse' announces Filip Clements as an artist with both the ambition and the songwriting ability to make a serious impact.