(Photo Credit: Kate Kornberg)
We had the opportunity to get advance access to Sofia Bolt's new album Waves, which drops June 28, 2019! Check out our track by track review of the album below.
Advance Review - Sofia Bolt - Waves
"London 2099" begins the album with a lo-fi feel. Bolt has solid vocals throughout the track that help accompany the melody. It's tight and fantastic. "Interlude I" is an instrumental transitional track. "Get Out of My Head" continues the lo-fi sound that evokes comps to early 90's alt music. The guitar in this track is fun as it establishes the melody while experimenting with rhythm. Bolt really ties it all together around the 2:30 mark with all aspects working in-sync.
"Closing Time" initially focuses on guitar, which is great. Bolt comes in and accompanies, the pairing is natural with neither dominating the track, but rather existing together. Bolt shows some range in this track hitting her highs. "Waves" begins with an almost an a capella intro. It quickly turns into a surf style rhythm that I found to cohesive, it totally worked with Bolt's vocals. Lyrically it worked as well as she sang "Surf that wave".
"Ojai" features a classic alt-pop sound to it, with influences of surf in it, particularly in the leads.
"Interlude II" is another instrumental transition song, this time a bit more upbeat than the previous "Interlude". "Losing Control" again continues Bolt's trademark lo-fi sound. There's some great lead guitar work in this one that burns like fire toward the end of the song that had me absolutely losing it. "Waves" (Van Dyke Parks arrangement) juxtaposes the vocals from "Waves" with string arrangements and more of a jazz arrangement. It's an intriguing take on the song and provides an interesting lens with which to view it.
Closing Thoughts - Sofia Bolt has a signature sound, it borders on classic alt and surf. Though she's not afraid to experiment with sound as well. All of the actual songs on the album were strong. You get the sense that Bolt knows the aesthetic she's going for and nails it every time. Where I did have problems was the inclusion of two short instrumentals on an album that's only nine songs long, but that's a minor gripe. That doesn't take away from the quality that was present throughout the rest. If you're remotely into lo-fi alt, you need to check this out.
Rating - 4/5