Heavy Jelly (album)

Heavy Jelly is the fourth album by English punk rock duo Soft Play, released on 19 July 2024 through BMG Rights Management. It is their first album under the name Soft Play, having been known as Slaves until 2022. The album received universal acclaim from critics.

Critical reception
Heavy Jelly received a score of 86 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on four critics' reviews, which the website categorised as "universal acclaim". Robin Murray of Clash described it as "wilder, faster, heavier, more frenetic, and downright hilarious than anything they've done together before. Both cartoonish and extreme, it's a cycle of songs that are both heavy duty and utterly ridiculous." DIY's Lisa Wright called it "eleven tracks that condense everything brilliant about [Soft Play] in a manner that feels truly confident in its own idiosyncratic skin", with songs like "a snarling shout from the middle of mental health issues ('Isaac Is Typing...')" that sit "alongside a ridiculous ode to action hero 'John Wick' and a moving tribute to Isaac's recently-passed friend Bailey ('Everything and Nothing') in a way that somehow makes complete sense".

Rachel Aroesti of The Guardian characterised Heavy Jelly as "an album full of very harsh, relatively atonal punk-metal – a mode that can get monotonous. Still, the highlights of Heavy Jelly are enormous; despite the despair, Soft Play's future has never looked brighter". Reviewing the album for The Line of Best Fit, Steven Loftin wrote that "this new start feels fresh. Heavy Jelly could be the ravishing debut from some doe-eyed newcomers with the visceral energy they're touting this time around, except therein lies a hardened exterior."