Pic: Paul Harries

Punk rock duo Soft Play return to Leeds’ O2 Academy as part of their ‘Heavy Jelly’ tour, in what was a blistering performance by one of the most loved alternative bands in the country.

The set kicked off in rip roaring fashion with the combination blow of,’All Things’ and,’Mirror Muscles’ coming at you full force. It became clear that in their time off, the sheer intensity of the duo’s live shows has not wavered, with the later track in particular blasting out of the speakers and punching the audience in the face with a take-no-prisoners, ‘fuck you’ bravado.

Before long the band took to the venue floor to be swarmed by the sweaty masses in attendance, and proceeded to recount to the tale of how the band formed and their struggles in finding other members before breaking into a blistering rendition of, ‘Fuck The Hi-Hat’ before launching into, ‘Sockets’ which sent the crowd into frenzy with bodies flying in every corner of the venue.

‘Punk’s Dead’ proved to be one of the evening’s high-points with the crowd screaming in union from beginning to end, with frontman Isaac Holman at his captivating best, with the energy radiating off of him being palpable to everyone in attendance. During the track the band also revealed the new backdrop for the tour, poking fun at the controversy surrounding the duo’s name change, they now perform in front of a banner reading, ‘Soft Cunts’.

As the show progressed the energy in the room ramped up and up as they flew through tracks such as, ‘John Wick’, ‘It Makes Me Sick’ and, ‘Girl Fight’, before the truly beautiful, ‘Everything and Nothing’ pulled the crowd from their ecstasy into what was truly a beautiful moment. Arms aloft the crowd sang in unison, a cathartic cleansing on the room before the raucous energy came back.

The blistering pace of the set was truly something to behold, with the band cramming nearly 20 songs into the space of an hour with their energy never waning, but rather building and building before the monumental, ‘The Hunter’ closed out the set. The rumble of the tracks riff could be felt in the building’s foundations before exploding into a primal frenzy, with Holmans vocals becoming a fraught scream befitting of the tracks magnitude.

Soft Play are not only back in full force but have seemingly not missed a single step. It’s a different band to the one we knew, a more mature and introspective version, but one that still captures the pure essence and energy of the punk scene better than perhaps anyone else out there.