De Morgen (6/01/2004, by Koen De Meester)
Who?
Sophia is the band of Robin Proper-Sheppard, who used to sing in The God Machine. So far Sophia have released two studio albums, full of slow and melancholy music. Halfway through the Nineties, Sophia seemed to be the last credible gothic rock band. Proper-Sheppard saved his hard rocking songs for his side project The May Queens, who have one album to their name.
What?
Now, after a five-year silence broken only by a live album, there’s a new release, People Are Like Seasons. The record combines the best of the two American songsmith’s sides. We get sweeping doomy songs with an acoustic backdrop, such as ‘Swept Back’, as well as hard rocking songs like ‘Darkness (Another Shade In Your Black)’. On top of this, Proper-Sheppard shows us that he can come up with a gem of a pop song. Look no further than the album opener ‘Oh my love’ for proof.
Our verdict
‘Oh my love’ is among the best songs that Robin Proper-Sheppard has ever written. Furthermore, the rest of the album shows a Sophia that sounds more diverse than ever. Not that it’s suddenly turned into a raucous party by any means, but People Are Like Seasons is at least a midwinter treat for the ear.
In good company with
The Black Heart Procession
Thestereoeffect.com (By Nick Farrow)
An almost terminally miserable document of death and it’s associated fallout it’s hard to find a sadder record than Sophia’s 1996 debut Fixed Water. The LP was recorded by Robin Proper-Sheppard after the sudden death of his long-time friend and bassist Jimmy Fernandez. Atmospheric, stripped to the bone, country-tinged acoustic songs sung by Sheppard’s heartbreaking and delicate voice walloped you over the head, flooring and skewering you through the heart. Two albums later and lyrically things haven’t cheered up that much for the ex-God Machine singer although on more than occasion you’re sure there’s a sly glint in his eye. Musically it seems Sheppard and collective of musicians have gone though something of an upheaval making People Are Like Seasons, their third album, Sophia’s most diverse to date.
“If a Change is Gonna Come” delves into the almost upbeat dirtied punk rock of Sheppard’s excellent May Queens side project. Distorted vocals spewing; “Life’s just a bitch and then you die....” over a “Man Who Sold The World” style buzzing guitar coda leaving you wondering if he’s sending himself up or not. On that thought if you scan the lyrics to “Holidays are Nice” and you’d be mistaken for believing that Sheppard is having a laugh at his own expense. Whatever he’s doing both are cracking tunes. Elsewhere “Darkness” comes close to the pounding dark atmospherics of The God Machine’s Scenes From the Second Storey which this LP borrows a song name and the look of the cover art.
What they still do best though is the likes of the country-tinged strum of “Swore to Myself” which would’ve slotted perfectly into Mazzy Star’s She Hangs Brightly and the gloom ridden sway of “Swept Back” and “I Left You” which are as close to the definition of 3am music as you’re likely to get, and by 3am music we’re not talking about being off you nut listening to techno.
Another excellent Sophia record then, with any luck and with a larger label behind them People Are Like Seasons might broaden their modest fan-base as on this evidence they deserve a much wider audience."
ovde se moze cuti po 1 pesma sa svih albuma
http://www.sophiamusic.net/audio.html
ne znam, ja to skinula, svideo mi se naziv albuma (imam tako neki ludacki kriterijum, tako sam "otkrila" tv on the radio, to rococo rot itd, samo na osnovu toga sto mi se svideo naziv benda ili tako nesto)
mislim nije nista bas sad specijalno, lepo bilo preslusati, cak gari ima malo glas koji podseca na mika dzigericu (sto nije lose, ne kazem nista)
:]
e da, link
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http://rapidshare.com/files/8820111/sophipeoplseas.rar
, ali ja recimo veccinu muzike imam zahvaljujucci soulseek-u, pa je ok dati predlog.. go! linkovi, mada ja podrzzavam i bez linkova, pa ko nadje nadje.. opet mozze biti neshto dobro..
