Before We Forgot How to Dream

Audio Mixer: Tommy McLauglin.Recording information: Attica Audio Recording, Donegal.Photographer: Joshua Hailing.Irish singer and songwriter SOAK begins her debut album with the words "A teenage heart/Is an unguided dart," and she ought to know -- SOAK (real name Bridie Monds-Watson) was just 18 years old when Before We Forgot How to Dream was released. And it's not especially hard to guess her age while listening to these songs: SOAK sounds and writes like a teenager, in the best of all possible ways, full of confidence that wrestles with a certain natural hesitance, and not the least bit afraid to wear her heart on her sleeve. SOAK's lyrical approach sometimes borders on melodrama, but it's an honest, thoroughly genuine melodrama that speaks of a time in life when so many moments seem like they're a matter of life and death. In her quiet but forceful manner, SOAK is remarkably eloquent on this album, though the childlike timber of her vocals and her strong Irish accent mean some list