SOPHIE left a crater-sized impact on pop music. Brat Summer stands as the cultural apogee of the undercurrent of pop music SOPHIE helped kick into high gear by producing Charli XCX’s Vroom Vroom EP in 2016. Multiple critically acclaimed records have eulogized her artistry and spirit. Her legacy lives on, and as such it makes sense that her family would decide to finish and release her second album as a final farewell. SOPHIE arrives as unique tribute to a unique artist in the uniquely complicated tradition of posthumous releases.
The album is split into four sections of four songs, each seemingly dedicated to a different side of the producer’s sound. The opening salvo is also the most unusual. The use of instrumentals, trap beats, spoken word, and of course an array of synths makes for what isn’t SOPHIE’s most daring experiment, but still an interesting one. “Plunging Asymptote”, with Juliana Huxtable, in particular recalls her ability to make the human voice feel like one more instrument in the mix. It’s a testament to how SOPHIE could never be boxed in, even if it fails to rise to the heights her previous work achieved.
The second section is particularly interesting in the current context. The most radio-pop leaning section, it sounds fresh and ready for the cultural landscape of Brat Summer. The Kim Petras and BC Kingdom featuring lead single “Reason Why” has bubbly synths and a joyful hook that sound fresh, contemporary, and ready to seize the moment. In this we can see the depth of SOPHIE’s impact, as the song was already a part of her live sets as far back as 2018. Truly, SOPHIE had a vision for the future of pop the culture is only now starting to catch up.
Yet SOPHIE had much more grit to her than pop music would allow. Regardless of her impact on palatable feminine pop starlets, her concerts were essentially raves, and that energy isn’t missing here. As the outro of “Do You Wanna Be Alive” launches into the pulsating “Elegance”, the listener is reminder that beyond being a genius experimental auteur and visionary, SOPHIE was someone who knew how to party. It is unfortunate then that the effect of energetic tracks like “Berlin Nightmare” with Evita Manji is mostly just of leaving one wondering what else she could have done with this material. What certainly could have been sharpened to perfection by her here stand more as a fun nod to her excellence.
The final four-track run aims to bring out the PC Music sound SOPHIE was so instrumental in defining. While her final send-off couldn’t possibly be complete without harkening back to that scene, and the tracks are certainly pleasant, their simplicity is the biggest indictment of how much is lost by the artist being gone. Of course it can never be known, but it is hard to believe SOPHIE couldn’t have delivered far superior versions of this now or in the future.
In the end, SOPHIE the record is a fitting tribute to SOPHIE the artist because of how well it highlights the ways in which she can never be replaced. The experiments remind us that she had much more to give, the high energy tracks remind us no one will ever get the chance to experience the magic of her live sets again, the PC Music throwbacks remind us of everything she helped shape, and the pop cuts remind us the world is only now getting to where she already was. The future of pop music truly lost something when SOPHIE was denied a chance to be part of it. From now on, all we can do is cherish her legacy and hope those that come after her come close to where she could have gotten after this.
