M(h)aol - Something Soft

“Gritty post-punk with both an important political consciousness and a sense of fun.” – NME

“Bracing, unsettling, and powerful.” – Rolling Stone

“Vulnerable, triumphant and cathartic in equal measure” – The Guardian

“The band needs to be on your radar ASAP” – Alternative Press

“The second full-length album from the Irish post-punks offers catharsis inspired by the concept of softness, sonically and thematically.” – Bandcamp

“M(h)aol’s music acts like a stent in a calcifying artery, loosening the plaque and allowing new, life-bringing blood to flow.” – Post-Trash

On May 16, M(h)aol will release their highly anticipated new album Something Soft on Merge Records and TULLE (pre-order). Today, the Irish intersectional feminist trio — Constance Keane (she/her), Jamie Hyland (she/her), and Sean Nolan (he/him) — are sharing their latest single, “I Miss My Dog,” along with a touching, band-made video featuring crowd-sourced clips of fans’ pets. The video is a heartfelt tribute to the dogs we’ve loved and lost — and the ones still with us.

On the song, Constance Keane shares:

“’I Miss My Dog’ is a song about my dog Poppy, and the experience of losing a pet. She passed away in July last year, and I still sometimes wake up thinking she’s with us. I think losing a dog is something that people either understand or they don’t, and this is a song for those of us that do.”

M(h)aol are excited to announce new UK headline shows this September in support of Something Soft. To celebrate the release, the band will play a special in-store performance at Rough Trade East in London on May 20. An Irish tour with Cola and Junk Drawer will take place May 28 to June 6. Upcoming shows are listed below and tickets are on sale now. 

M(h)aol have built a reputation for thrilling live performances, fostering an atmosphere that encourages community and catharsis regardless of where they play. After their captivating set at SXSW in 2023, the band signed with Merge Records and released the North American reissue of their debut full-length album Attachment Styles that fall. The band followed the album with singles “DM:AM,”  “Pursuit,” and, “Snare,” the latter being a fierce anthem that boldly defies gender expectations with biting wit.

Attachment Styles received 4* reviews from The Guardian, Louder, as well as support from NME, NPR, Pitchfork, Brooklyn Vegan, BBC 6 Music, Consequence, Matt Wilkinson, The Line Of Best Fit, Rough Trade, CRACK, Hot Press, Loud & Quiet, DORK, DIY,  Alternative Press and more. Their line-up soon changed, settling on the core trio which changed the band’s approach to songwriting and performing, resulting in an unexpected breakthrough where many groups have folded.

Something Soft’s is an unapologetic approach to intersectional feminism, animal welfare, consumerism, and the struggle to find a place in a world lacking in empathy. The album features a more urgent sound wound tightly around Hyland and Keane’s rhythm. On the already released singles “Pursuit” and “Snare,” Keane’s vocals lock in on her drums, as if her words were stirred to life by her playing, issued directly from her body. Set against those respectively anxious and swaggering tracks, her voice occupies the space of an inner monologue narrating a tense walk home, and green room misogyny from a place of droll observance.

Like its predecessors Attachment Styles and the Gender Studies EP, Something Soft was recorded by Jamie Hyland (who has also worked with Gilla Band, Lambrini Girls’ acclaimed debut, The Psychotic Monks). It is the most technically nimble of M(h)aol’s recordings to date, with the band – joined by Pixie Cut Rhythm Orchestra’s Sarah Deegan on bass – decamping to Dublin’s Ailfionn Studio where they took advantage of the space and studio equipment to bring more nuance to their sound.

The polish serves to highlight M(h)aol’s roguish charms, making the intimate feel anthemic, using personal experience to detail the broader systems we live under. For those who’ve come to recognize themselves in their songs, listening to Something Soft is like jumping into a long-running chat thread, full of fury and humor.

M(h)aol applies a DIY ethos to all aspects of the band. Attachment Styles and Gender Studies were originally released on TULLE, an independent women-led record label focused on working with and for underrepresented voices in music co-founded by Constance Keane.