Soft Play (Formerly Known As Slaves) Complete New Album, Tease Song Titles

In December, British punk duo Slaves changed their name to Soft Play. The change in band name arrived after years of controversy levelled at the band for a perceived lack of awareness for historical connotations that didn't acknowledge the humanity of enslaved people.

Vocalist and drummer Isaac Holman and multi-instrumentalist/backing singer Laurie Vincent said in a December Instagram post that they wished to address "something important" before getting to their comeback.

"When we called our band Slaves, it was intended solely as a reference to the grind of day to day life. As younger men, we responded to criticism of the name from a place of fear and defensiveness," the two wrote. 

They added, "Feeling backed into a corner, our own pride caused us to fight for a name we weren't even sure we wanted anymore. It felt at times as if our band name had defined us and we were scared of what might happen if we changed it.

"However, we now recognise that our original intent doesn't change the fact that the name Slaves is an issue," the band asserted. 

"In this day and age we believe it is very important that people change and make improvements no matter how far down the line they are. The name doesn't represent who we are as people or what our music stands for any longer. We want to sincerely apologise to anyone we've offended."

Their comeback is beginning soon. Yesterday, Holman revealed on social media that the “Album [is] in the bag,” followed by a series of joyful photos. 

The singer also shared some new track names, including Middle Urinal Business, Creepy Uber Eats Man, Telephobia, Worms On Tarmac, Dank Mocha, Jam On Toast, and more.

Soft Play released their debut album, Are You Satisfied?, in 2015. The record peaked at #8 on the UK Albums Chart and was followed by Take Control in 2016 and 2018's Acts Of Fear And Love.