REVIEWS

Sophya
Third Wish

Mutantjasz Records

Posted: Wednesday, November 14, 2007
By: Matthew Johnson
Features Editor

"More," the opening song on Sophya's third album, gives every indication that we're in for an hour or so of moody, ethereal pop in the vein of The Cure (or just about any Projekt band in the '90s). For the first half hour or so, that's a pretty accurate assessment. "Fifty Four" adds hints of piano over the shimmering guitars, "A Crack in the Sky" adds almost Benedictine harmonies to subtle electronics, and "Orchidea" brings in romantic Mediterranean warmth, courtesy of guest vocalist Federico Caputo of Italian art-rock ensemble Letatlin. A surprisingly faithful cover of Joy Division's "Transmission" marks the album's halfway point though, both literally and thematically; after that, things branch off into a more experimental direction. Although the second half of Third Wish mirrors the moody atmospheres of the first, the arrangements take on a completely different character, effects-drenched guitars taking a backseat to avant-garde electronics. "Stare" sees guitarist and programmer Idan Karutchi taking over vocal duties from front woman Sonja Rozenblum on a minimalist electro-pop dirge, as does the grimly pulsing "Sixteen Rings (For a Memory)." Rozenblum returns to the microphone in all her wispy glory on "To Tears and Flowers," but she's less dreamy than ghostly this time, floating over glassy synths. "Third Wish, Part II" reprises an earlier strummed guitar interlude as spooky synth soundtrack, though the warm bass guitar of The Haze (a.k.a. Clan of Xymox guitarist Mario Usai) keeps things from getting overly chilling. Ending things is a remix of "To Tears and Flowers" by Tejo Bolten of Dutch art-pop group Mecano that adds everything from science fiction analog synths to treated violin ambience to Rozenblum's already spacey vocals, resulting in something that sounds a bit like Björk by way of The Legendary Pink Dots. Despite its moody but mellow beginnings, Third Wish isn't ultimately the sort of album you can put on and then drift away to. Thanks to a spirit of musical experimentation that comes on so gradually you won't notice it until it's too late, Sophya has crafted an album that's far more artistically satisfying, if a bit more demanding on the listener.electronics.