The Soft Pink Truth's new album, Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase?, is a hypnotic, healing record that swaps house beats for live instrumentation and turns a meditation on the rise of global fascism into something unexpectedly hopeful. It is the latest project from Drew Daniel, one half of the acclaimed experimental duo Matmos, and it ranks among his most emotionally direct work.
Where Matmos build albums around strict conceptual experiments — songs made only from samples of medical procedures, or instruments fashioned from PVC tubing — the Soft Pink Truth follows wherever Daniel's instincts lead. Past releases under the name have ranged from house music to an album of black metal covers. This one heads somewhere quieter and more reflective.
A softer, more hypnotic Soft Pink Truth
Compared with Daniel's earlier solo work, Shall We Go On Sinning is notably subtler. It trades the distortion and four-on-the-floor pulse of records like Do You Party? for textures that feel organic and ambient. There are still heavily manipulated field recordings and samples, as you would expect from anyone in Matmos, but here they lean toward warmth rather than friction.
The biggest shift is in how the album was made. Where most of Matmos's catalog and previous Soft Pink Truth releases are assembled primarily from samples, this record leans on live musicians bouncing ideas off one another in real time. That gives it a loose, spontaneous quality — less meticulous construction, more human conversation.
Track by track: hope built from live jams
The tracklist reads as a single sentence, with each song title forming another word: "Shall," "We," "Go," "On," "Sinning," "So," "That," "Grace," and "May Increase." It is designed to flow as one seamless piece rather than a set of separate songs.
"Shall" opens with unsettling drones and a chant that hovers on the edge of the uncanny, a sense of what the album is leaving behind. "We" kicks things into gear with a muted four-on-the-floor kick, clanking percussion, wind sweeps, vocal runs, and a piano that plays peekaboo, gradually gathering momentum. "Go" answers with something like a call to prayer before "On" drifts into ghostly choir vocals and gently plucked synths.
The centerpiece is "Sinning," where abstract saxophone blasts trade off with bells and vibraphones over another simple kick that gives the track real groove. "So" is the comedown, its saxophones ushering in a seamless back half. That stretch runs from the ambient chaos of "That" to the jazzy eruption of "Grace," before "May Increase" spends its closing minutes gently taking everything apart and ending on a long exhale. If you enjoy detailed music and culture reviews, this is a record that rewards close listening.
Why the album matters
What makes Shall We Go On Sinning stand out is its tone. Faced with dark political subject matter, Daniel responds not with anger or dread but with a celebration of human creativity and art's capacity to heal. It is a quietly optimistic statement, and a reminder that experimental music can be as comforting as it is challenging.
The album is available on Bandcamp and most major streaming platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, and YouTube Music. For more on the artists and releases shaping the cultural conversation, browse our latest news and features.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the Soft Pink Truth?
The Soft Pink Truth is a project from Drew Daniel, one half of the experimental electronic duo Matmos. It gives him room to explore ideas outside Matmos's tightly conceptual albums.
Where can I stream the album?
Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase? is on Bandcamp and major streaming services, including Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, and YouTube Music.
