This fourth album from ex-God Machine man Robin Proper-Shepard is very much, as he kindly almost notes himself in the title, like seasons. When winter crashes crassly into autumn for instance, with a flagrant disregard for its moderation and crisp, artful aesthetics, you instinctively resist its harshness and crave for the serenity of the period passed. That is until you find your own comfort and allow yourself a more flattering perspective on the beauty that still surrounds you. Inversely, this record seems originally unremarkable, colours washing into one another, moments floating by like dead leaves in the breeze. Yet once you’ve accepted what is there around you and wrapped yourself up in it more welcoming moments it really comes alive, those vague washes of colour becoming chemical/emotional fission and every detail coming into focus.
Like near-peers Mojave 3, Sophia has risen from something harsher into a gentle, reflective consistency. But unlike Mojave 3, Sophia is still very much aware of the power of extremities. And so a driving post-desert-rock edge, of the style which has driven Mogwai to some recent breathtaking multi-layered highs, woven into the likes of ‘Desert Song No.2’ ensures a direct hit right on target. ‘Darkness (Another Shade In Your Black)’ in a similar manner appears like a nuclear Sparklehorse from the perspective of latter-day Cure.
Where there’s a mid-album period which concerns itself with such intense heights, it is all built on well laid orchestral and acoustic foundations. His voice quivers and falls on ‘I left You’ like Neil Young at his most introspective as soft strings and measured instrumentation behind him draws a hazy sunset onto the sky. ‘Another Trauma’ and ‘Fool’ drift by with the whisky baritone fragrance of the Tindersticks and the body of Mercury Rev. There is a deep set beauty to most of what’s on offer here which is only occasionally let down by the fact that there are no apparent feelings of liberation. Each song feels like a diary entry captured, but one that’s not achieved much worth by being recorded.