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Sophie (album)

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Sophie
The album title in stylized, squiggly capital letters backed by darkness and monochrome magenta laser lights.
Studio album by
Sophie
Released25 September 2024
Genre
Length67:02
Label
Producer
  • Sophie
  • Benny Long[2]
Sophie chronology
Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides Non-Stop Remix Album
(2019) 		Sophie
(2024)
Singles from Sophie
  1. "Reason Why"
    Released: 24 June 2024
  2. "Berlin Nightmare"
    Released: 23 July 2024
  3. "One More Time"
    Released: 24 July 2024
  4. "Exhilarate"
    Released: 28 August 2024
  5. "My Forever"
    Released: 24 September 2024

Sophie (stylised as SOPHIE) is the second and final[2] studio album by English recording artist and producer Sophie. It was posthumously released on 25 September 2024. Her brother, Benny Long, took the lead in finalizing its production after her death. All of the tracks, excluding the first, have a featured artist.

Five singles preceded it, starting with "Reason Why", and followed by "Berlin Nightmare", "One More Time", "Exhilarate" and "My Forever", spread out one month apart.

Background

[edit]

After Sophie's unexpected death in 2021 from an accidental three floor fall at the age of 34, plans of releasing her unpublished works were discussed. In June 2021, her brother Benny Long considered the possibility of a posthumous release of her planned follow-up to her debut album, Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides, stating it "just needed finishing touches".[3]

According to Long, the album was nearly complete at the time of Sophie's death.[4] The track list was "roughly sketched out" by her. As a longtime studio engineer of Sophie, Long completed the album. Their two sisters were also involved in the process. For most of the songs, features such as arrangements and production had already been prepared. Some songs needed minimal mixing and mastering, while others were somewhere between sketches and demos. Extensive discussions with Sophie guided him in determining the direction each track should take.[1][5]

On 21 June 2024, Sophie's YouTube channel and a new social media account titled "@msmsmsm_forever" uploaded a series of videos and posts teasing an announcement on 24 June 2024.[6][7] When the teased date arrived, the lead single from the album, "Reason Why", featuring Kim Petras and BC Kingdom, was released alongside an announcement of the posthumous self-titled album to be released in September that year.[8]

On Instagram, Sophie's family posted a statement regarding the album.[9][10]

When we, Sophie's family, took our first steps towards bringing this project to fruition we contacted the dear friends with whom she envisioned the album. We wrote, "We have been finding comfort in the music Sophie left us, it is a gift that we truly cherish as we try to find a way forward, with Sophie forever at the center of our worlds." Sophie didn't often speak publicly of her private life, preferring to put everything she wanted to articulate in her music. It feels only right to share with the world the music she hoped to release, in the belief that we can all connect with her in this, the form she loved most. Sophie gave all of herself to her music. It's here that she can always be found.

— Sophie's family

The album released on streaming services two days early on 25 September, following the premiere of a six-minute video showcasing interviews from the album's collaborators.[11][12]

Reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic70/100[13]
Review scores
SourceRating
DIY[14]
Exclaim!7/10[15]
The Guardian[16]
The Line of Best Fit8/10[17]
Financial Times[18]
MusicOMH[19]
NME[20]
Pitchfork6.8/10[21]
Rolling Stone[22]
Slant Magazine[23]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Sophie received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 70 out of 100 from 17 critic scores.[13]

Rolling Stone wrote that the album was "full of wildly inventive bangers" and "set[s] a new bar for other musicians to leap over if they dare."[22] The Guardian characterized the album as "dense and unpredictable, never settling into the easy rhythms of a post-death tribute", highlighting that while posthumous albums are often cash grabs by opportunistic labels or management teams, Sophie's release stands out as a more "complete statement".[1] MusicOMH thought the album was "a fitting addition to her legacy".[19] For DIY, it was "more commemorative than conclusive - a welcome celebration; an answerphone message revisited."[14] Drew Gillis of The A.V. Club described it as "a touching tribute, even though it can't capture all that she was".[24] Similarly, Jesse Dorris from Pitchfork called it a "bittersweet, difficult to pin down, and an unusually safe statement from one of the 21st century's great risk-takers",[21] while Josh Korngut of Exclaim! found it successful but "not quite a SOPHIE project."[15]

NME's Alex Rigotti was less positive, opining that "there’s a gnawing impersonality that plagues many of the tracks here" and concluding that "the album doesn’t fully execute SOPHIE’s unique vision."[25] The Quietus's Karl Smith stated that "SOPHIE's absence is most keenly felt in the many gaps on this posthumous guest contributor album", with many hallmarks of her music "dialed down throughout or, in some cases, gone altogether".[26] Slant Magazine's Charles Lyons-Burt felt that "without her patented mix of prankish wit and bleeding-heart expressivity to guide the project, [the album] feels more like a ChatGPT recreation of a true visionary's unique brand of pop".[23] Writing for Resident Advisor, Sasha Geffen opined that the "underdeveloped second album reveals just how much of her music's impact came from its finishing details", feeling that the release lacked "the propulsive, dynamic sound of the music SOPHIE shared just months before her death", including her 2020 HEAV3N livestream.[27]

Year-end lists

[edit]
Select year-end rankings for Sophie
Publication/critic Accolade Rank Ref.
Bleep Top 10 Albums of 2024 10 [28]
DJ Mag Best Albums of 2024 unranked [29]
The Line of Best Fit Best Albums of the Year 2024 31 [30]
The Observer: Kitty Empire 10 Best Albums of 2024 8 [31]
Rough Trade UK Albums of the Year 2024 1 [32]

Track listing

[edit]

Credits taken from the vinyl. All tracks produced by Sophie & Benny Long.

Sophie track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Intro (The Full Horror)"
4:32
2."Rawwwwww" (featuring Jozzy)
2:53
3."Plunging Asymptote" (featuring Juliana Huxtable)
4:37
4."The Dome's Protection" (featuring Nina Kraviz)
7:37
5."Reason Why" (featuring Kim Petras and BC Kingdom)
3:53
6."Live in My Truth" (featuring BC Kingdom and Liz)
4:04
7."Why Lies" (featuring BC Kingdom and Liz)
  • Xeon
  • Scoggins
  • Cummings
  • Abrams
4:19
8."Do You Wanna Be Alive?" (featuring Big Sister)
4:10
9."Elegance" (featuring Popstar)
  • Xeon
  • Popstar
4:51
10."Berlin Nightmare" (featuring Evita Manji)
  • Xeon
  • Evita Manji
3:36
11."Gallop" (featuring Evita Manji)
  • Xeon
  • Manji
1:57
12."One More Time" (featuring Popstar)
  • Xeon
  • Popstar
3:21
13."Exhilarate" (featuring Bibi Bourelly)
4:24
14."Always and Forever" (featuring Hannah Diamond)
4:50
15."My Forever" (featuring Cecile Believe)
4:04
16."Love Me off Earth" (featuring Doss)
  • Xeon
  • Doss
  • M Zavos-Costales
  • Thora Siemsen
3:54
Total length:67:02

Notes

  • ^[a] "Always and Forever" contains an interpolation of "One Man" by Chanelle.

Personnel

[edit]
  • Sophie – production
  • Benny Long – production
  • Alex Evans – mixing
  • Matt Colton – mastering
  • Renata Baksha – creative direction, photo art
  • XK Studio – cover art
  • International Magic – design, gatefold art
  • Calum Morton – artistic consultation

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Sophie
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[33] 73
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[34] 169
Scottish Albums (OCC)[35] 10
UK Albums (OCC)[36] 98
UK Dance Albums (OCC)[37] 6
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[38] 7
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[39] 26
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[40] 27
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[41] 9

Release history

[edit]
Release dates and formats for Sophie
Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
Various 25 September 2024
[12]
27 September 2024
[42]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c D'Souza, Shaad (20 September 2024). "'My first impression was this person's a genius': the life and legacy of producer pioneer Sophie". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  2. ^ a b Strauss, Matthew (24 June 2024). "First and Final Posthumous SOPHIE Album Announced". Pitchfork. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  3. ^ Bain, Katie. "SOPHIE's Brother on Plans for Unreleased Music: 'Doing Right by SOPHIE' Is Top Priority". Billboard. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  4. ^ Cain, Sian (25 June 2024). "Sophie: posthumous final album to be released in September". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  5. ^ Pareles, Jon. "Sophie Died in 2021. The Album She Left Behind Is Now Complete". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  6. ^ "A new Sophie album, featuring previously unheard tracks has been announced". Crack. 24 June 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  7. ^ Sophie (21 June 2024). @MSMSMSM_FOREVER. Retrieved 24 June 2024 – via YouTube.
  8. ^ "Sophie's Self-Titled Final Album to Be Released Posthumously on September 27". Paste.
  9. ^ "A message from SOPHIE's family". Instagram. 24 June 2024. Archived from the original on 24 June 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  10. ^ Pappis, Konstantinos (24 June 2024). "Posthumous SOPHIE Album Announced: Listen to 'Reason Why' Featuring Kim Petras and BC Kingdom". Our Culture Mag. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  11. ^ SOPHIE (25 September 2024). SOPHIE. Retrieved 25 September 2024 – via YouTube.
  12. ^ a b SOPHIE, 25 September 2024, retrieved 25 September 2024
  13. ^ a b "SOPHIE by SOPHIE Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  14. ^ a b "SOPHIE - SOPHIE". DIY. 27 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  15. ^ a b "SOPHIE's Posthumous Self-Titled Is a Bittersweet Party │ Exclaim!". Exclaim!. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  16. ^ Empire, Kitty (28 September 2024). "Sophie: Sophie review – shiver-inducing posthumous album from the hyperpop trailblazer". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  17. ^ "Sophie: SOPHIE Review - impactful pleasure | Dance". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  18. ^ Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (25 September 2024). "Sophie album review — a posthumous tribute to a musical visionary". Financial Times. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  19. ^ a b Devlin, Ben (27 September 2024). "SOPHIE - SOPHIE | Album Reviews". musicOMH. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  20. ^ Rigotti, Alex (26 September 2024). "SOPHIE – 'SOPHIE' review: an uneven farewell to the pop pioneer". NME. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  21. ^ a b Dorris, Jesse. "SOPHIE: SOPHIE". Pitchfork. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  22. ^ a b Vozick-Levinson, Simon (24 September 2024). "Sophie's Final Album Is a Reminder of Her Irreplaceable Brilliance". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  23. ^ a b Lyons-Burt, Charles (27 September 2024). "Sophie Sophie Review: An Uneven Approximation of a Pop Auteur's Vision". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  24. ^ Gillis, Drew (24 September 2024). "Sophie's final album is a touching tribute, even though it can't capture all that she was". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  25. ^ Rigotti, Alex (26 September 2024). "SOPHIE – 'SOPHIE' review: an uneven farewell to the pop pioneer". NME. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  26. ^ Smith, Karl (24 September 2024). "There's a Crack in Everything: SOPHIE's Last Album Reviewed". The Quietus. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  27. ^ "SOPHIE - SOPHIE · Album Review ⟋ RA". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  28. ^ Bleep. "Top 10 Albums of the Year 2024". Bleep. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  29. ^ DJ Mag Staff (17 December 2024). "DJ Mag's top albums of 2024". djmag.com. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  30. ^ The Line of Best Fit (9 December 2024). "The Best Albums of the Year 2024". thelineofbestfit.com. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  31. ^ Empire, Kitty (22 December 2024). "Music: Kitty Empire's 10 best albums of 2024". theguardian.com. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  32. ^ "Albums of the Year 2024". roughtrade.com. 19 November 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  33. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 7 October 2024". The ARIA Report. No. 1805. Australian Recording Industry Association. 7 October 2024. p. 6.
  34. ^ "Ultratop.be – Sophie %5BUK%5D – Sophie" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  35. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
  36. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  37. ^ "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  38. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  39. ^ "Sophie Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  40. ^ "Sophie Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  41. ^ "Sophie Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  42. ^ "Sophie – Sophie. Sophie". Ochre. 24 June 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
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