Album Review: SOPHIE – SOPHIE
3 min readSophie was someone who meant a lot to those who knew her, and was truly innovative to those who listened and worked with her. Without being facetious, her weird, whacky, and wild approach to production mixed with her intriguing and always pin-sharp songwriting earned her high praise among the fans and collaborators label PC Music culminated. Her untimely death in 2021 prompted this album, a project that according to her long time engineer and brother Benny Long ‘just needed finishing touches’. It was meant to be Sophie’s sophomore release, following her 2018 debut Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides, but has proven to be her final record. A full stop rather than a statement of intent. It’s a bitter-sweet listen, exciting to own, but sad knowing that this is undoubtedly the last pieces of her legacy.
The album kicks off in a moanful way with Intro (The Full Horror), a song that weirdly acknowledges the sentiments going into the record. It’s an ambient instrumental with the haunting vibes hinted at in the title. Though it doesn’t particularly lead anywhere, it is a good vibe setter for following song Rawwwwww with Jozzy. Off-kilter, bassy, and well-executed, the song is basic but punchy. The Dome’s Protection is an epic soundscape piece with spoken word passages from Nina Kraviz, while Live In My Truth featuring BC Kingdom and LIZ is an out-and-out alternative pop track with catchy melodies. Why Lies also featuring the aforementioned pair follows a similar structure but is even more upbeat.
Do You Wanna Be Alive? with BIG SISTER is a driving, kick heavy tune that slowly increases tempo as it goes, while Elegance featuring Popstar feels like a descent into madness with glitchy synths and crunchy drums until around the three-minute mark where it transitions into a synth pop track reminiscent of 2010s-era Gorillaz. It also flows perfectly into Berlin Nightmare featuring Evita Manji, a definite late-album highlight that mixes the gritty electronics and the dance beats excellently. Exhilarate with Bibi Bourelly is another highlight, her vocals soaring above the pounding beats. Fellow PC Music collaborator Hannah Diamond appears on Always and Forever, her ethereal voice floating above the instrumental. Final track Love Me Off Earth is the clubbiest and most hyperactive, going through multiple sections before ending on a prolonged section of silence.
SOPHIE is an ode to its namesake, one that you have to hope she would have been proud of. It shows the general direction that her sound was taking her, and whether or not the entirety of the features present would have still appeared had she been here to complete the album herself, it’s a testament to her that each artist did turn up and give their all in support. The record is a fantastic tribute, and will no doubt be appreciated by fans, friends, and collaborators alike.
Writer and Musician, Ryan Bulbeck has been published with a number of online publications, and has worked with a myriad of great artists, both as a performer, and as a producer. His most recent band The 295 are still active, playing shows around the UK.