Since dropping on 25 July 2025 via Flying Nun Records, Soft Bait’s Life Advice has been generating unabashed admiration across Aotearoa’s music scene—and beyond. Critics are calling it “a ferocious, neon‑lit punk record that throws punches at late‑capitalist burnout, social apathy, and the absurdity of modern life” —a sonic slap that listeners didn’t even know they needed Muzic.NZ. It’s been lauded as urgent, essential, and unmistakably Kiwi in its raw energy and dark wit Muzic.NZ.
Highlight tracks ‘New Leaf’ and ‘Long Line’ are being hailed as singles of the year. ‘New Leaf’ in particular has been praised as “annoyingly addictive in a good way,” its nagging riff and razor‑sharp lyricism casting a spell on critics and fans alike Elsewhere by Graham Reid. Meanwhile ‘Long Line’ lays down a pounding rhythm and gritty commentary on inherited emotional baggage—“a restlessness in every beat, a refusal to play nice” Muzic.NZ Scoop Auckland.
Soft Bait – ‘New Leaf’ (Official Music Video)
Elsewhere’s Graham Reid predicts Life Advice could shape up as a strong contender in end‑of‑year “best album” lists, singling out the album’s tense, striped‑back sound and Hunter’s commanding presence in each track Elsewhere by Graham Reid. The album’s production—razor‑sharp guitars, throbbing bass, and drums that sound “recorded in a boxing gym”—brings a visceral punch to every listen Muzic.NZ.
From the moment ‘Highly Recommended’ blasts open the record with electropunk ferocity, Life Advice holds nothing back. It’s “music to feel in your gut,” a debut of maturity and mischief that refuses to settle for prettiness when honesty hits harder Muzic.NZ.
Soft Bait
Life Advice
Order here.
Tracklisting
01. Highly Recommended
02. New Leaf
03. TNT
04. Long Line
05. Neighbourhood
06. Oh Well
07. Applause
08. Safe As Houses
09. Talk Too Much
10. Sooner
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