Small Talk is the debut studio album by Irish alternative pop band Soda Blonde, released on 9 July 2021, by Velveteen Records.[1] The album was self-produced by the band, engineered and mixed by guitarist Adam O'Regan.
Following the release of their EPs Terrible Hands and isolation content in 2019, Small Talk was supported by singles "Small Talk" and "In The Heat Of The Night," alongside music videos and tours across Ireland and the UK in 2021 and 2022.[2][3] The album received positive reviews from critics and was nominated for the Choice Music Prize in 2021.[4]
Background
Soda Blonde emerged in 2019 after the dissolution of Little Green Cars on 21 March 2019, when four members—Faye O'Rourke, Adam O'Regan, Donagh Seaver O'Leary, and Dylan Lynch—decided to form a new band.[5]
Recording and production
Small Talk was recorded at White Cottage, Killiney Beach, County Wicklow, Ireland, between 2020 and 2021.[citation needed] The band took a self-produced approach, with all production handled by Soda Blonde themselves.[1] Adam O'Regan, the band's guitarist, engineered and mixed the album, while Aidan McGovern mastered it at Academy of Sound.[citation needed] Additional production on the track "Holy Roses" was provided by J Smith, and contributions from Dan Smith and Stevie Appleby were included on "Tiny Darkness" and "The Dark Trapese."[1] String arrangements for "Tiny Darkness" and "Choices" were crafted by O'Regan and Aran O'Grady, performed by a quintet and recorded by Ben Rawlins at DIT Conservatory.[1]
Release and promotion
Small Talk was released on 9 July 2021, by Velveteen Records.[1] The lead single, "Small Talk," was released on 4 June 2021, followed by "The Truth" on the album's release date, 9 July 2021.[2] Three music videos—"Swimming Through The Night," "Small Talk," and "In The Heat Of The Night"—were released to promote the album, available on Soda Blonde's YouTube channel.[3] The band supported the release with tours across Ireland and the UK in 2021 and 2022, including performances at Whelan's in Dublin and The Great Escape Festival in Brighton, as announced on their official website.[6]
Reception
The album was nominated for the Choice Music Prize in 2021.[4]Paste Magazine described Small Talk as "a yearning, wistful record, and a criminally underrated 2021 release," rating it 7.9 out of 10.[7]The Irish Times gave it four out of five stars, and stated "So it proves with Small Talk, a record so articulate and expressive that its title has to be a wry in-joke,"[8] while Hot Press commented "Everyone else should heed O’Rourke’s advice from amongst those gorgeous strings of ‘Tiny Darkness’ and 'get with the programme' because Small Talk is a big deal."[9]
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