Call Upon The Author

I have to admit, I really struggled with this album. After the first listen I was left without any real impression of the record, it just seemed to entirely pass me by unnoticed. After giving it some more time however, the album really starts to unveil itself. This may be due to the simplistic style of the music, with the vocals taking centre stage whilst the instrumentation plays on quietly in the background.
Opening track Leave Me with the Monkeys makes this fact clear right from the start, almost being entirely lead by vocals with drums coming in halfway through. Not that this is a bad thing, Sophie Hunger’s vocals being sublime enough to carry the music with the scant instrumentation holding the beat and providing atmospheric embellishments to what she has to say.
That being said, the stand out track for me on the album is Invisible where the music gets just as much of the spotlight as the vocals. The instruments themselves are nice and varied, from acoustic guitars and drums to trumpets and piano, it keeps the sound fresh and ensures that no two songs are alike. It also helps to pinpoint the feeling of the songs, be they slow haunting melodies or more upbeat energetic tunes.
Whilst it’s not unusual for an artist to sing in two different languages, I don’t think I’ve ever come across a quad-lingual album before. Having grown up in Switzerland, Germany and the UK though it comes as no surprise that she is adept at a number of different languages, and the songs where she displays her multilingual tongue are some of the highlights of the album despite the usually fantastic lyrics not being clear to a mono-lingual fool such as I.
There is still something lacking about this album however. I’ve heard much hyperbole about her across the internet but just can’t see it myself. While she undoubtedly has great talent, she doesn’t quite live up to the praise that has been heaped upon her. That being said, she is definitely one to look out for, and I wouldn’t bet against her making an impact in the mainstream before long. All in all it’s an album that’s definitely worth your time, mixing folk and jazz sounds with the influences of her multicultural upbringing. I look forward to seeing if she truly flourishes with future releases.