Always evolving with its constant ebb and flow, the realm of modern pop has transformed significantly since beloved hyperpop producer Sophie Xeon made her first mark as an artist. The compilation Product consisted of singles under her name from 2013-2015 and helped bring attention to Sophie as an innovator in pop by ushering a new sound of hyper-exaggerated pop conventions from the 2000s’ to create a sound that goes from infectious and glittery to booming and harsh. Sophie’s profile as a visionary has only grown over time through her collaborations on tracks like Madonna’s “B*tch, I’m Madonna” (feat. Nicki Minaj), Vince Staples’ “Yeah Right” (feat. Kendrick Lamar & KUCKA), Itzy’s “24HRS” and Shygirl’s “SLIME”. And, of course, who could forget her first collaboration with pop icon Charli XCX on the latter’s EP Vroom Vroom?
This EP must have been a perplexing listen back in 2016, before hyperpop became the phenomenon it is today. The four songs on this release boasted a sound that was bold, sexy and brash with an edge that now seems to be the norm for aspiring experimental pop stars. The modern femme fatale diva energy Charli gave off on this EP perfectly complemented Sophie’s slick yet abrasive production style, resulting in the start of a musical relationship that would be further strengthened by later collaborations between the two, up until Sophie’s unexpected passing in 2021.
With condolences from Rihanna, Sam Smith, Vince Staples and A.G. Cook among others, Sophie’s significance on the emerging pop paradigm became abundantly clear as artists began dropping tracks paying homage to her legacy (Caroline Polachek’s “I Believe,” St. Vincent’s “Sweetest Fruit,” and Sega Bodega’s “Sweetest Fruit”). Above all, 2024 has proven to be the year of Charli XCX with her hit summer hyperpop/dance club album “BRAT”, which could be seen as a cultural high point for the wide-reaching influence Sophie has. Charli’s own homage came in the form of the track “So I,” in which she detailed her relationship with the extraordinary trendsetter, describing her as a mentor and close friend who encouraged her to become more bold and fought for a brighter, more daring world of pop music.
A few months after Sophie’s death, her brother Benny Long announced plans to release some of her unpublished work. According to Long, much of the material had been completed at the time of Sophie’s death and only required a few production finishes before they were ready to go out. After three years of anticipation, fans were met with the single “Reason Why” (feat. Kim Petras and BC Kingdom) as a teaser for the posthumous self-titled record that consisted of these unreleased tracks. The album would also serve as the second official LP released under the artists name next to Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides, a record whose genius and harshness is only met by the shimmering melodies and an optimism for a future of free gender expression for all people.
While the reception for this single was warm, fans and critics began to wonder if the posthumous effort would stick the landing and find its mark with audiences despite lacking the voice and oversight of Sophie. Could the album stand up to the incredibly beloved works of one of the greatest visionaries in pop of the last decade? Unfortunately, without the direction and final production decisions from its namesake, the record struggles to live up to expectations and results in an experience that doesn’t take nearly as many risks as it should.
Many of the album’s strongest moments are expended in the first half of the album, with the second half sounding like afterthoughts filled with surprisingly amateurish blemishes in production. However, even this comparatively superior first half has tracks that fail to capture the energy expected from a release associated with Sophie’s name. Only a handful of tracks come close to matching up with the energy of a fleshed out Sophie track, which serve as an oasis from the empty sounds that pervade the album’s runtime of an hour and six minutes, considerably longer than her two past projects. The guest features generally range from well-fitting and appropriate to head-scratching and virtually non-existent. However, even amidst the disappointing number of duds, there are some standouts within the tracklist that propel the momentum of a mostly underwhelming listen.
The album begins with the intro track “Intro (The Full Horror),” an ambient track with Sophie as the sole writing credit listed. The track mostly serves as a means to ease listeners into the project, but it goes on for a bit longer than necessary with four minutes and 32 seconds for little to no progression. Following this, the track “RAWWWWWW” features a guest performance from Jozzy, known for co-writing the Billy Ray Cyrus cover of Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road.” Though it lacks many of the bells and whistles that litter a typical Sophie track and make it exciting, Jozzy’s performance gives the song a sexy and sinister boastful energy that captures listeners’ attention after the prolonged intro track.
The next track “Plunging Asymptote” features Julianna Huxtable, DJ and co-founder of New York nightlife project Shock Value, and is among the tracks that come the closest to sounding like a fully developed song from Sophie. The futuristic synths and sounds of metallic strings undergoing tension harken back to an era of daring production choices from Sophie’s Product, yet it still ultimately feels aimless for much of its runtime. The repetitive mantra uttered throughout the entirety of the track only makes the track feel longer than it actually is, despite it remaining one of the album’s most exciting moments.
The fourth track “The Dome’s Protection” featuring Russian DJ Nina Kraviz is one of the more outlandish moments in the tracklist, standing at a daunting seven minutes and 37 seconds. Rather than filling the time with unique switchups and a pulsing energy, the track is a drone instrumental over which Kraviz recites a poem that reads as unengaging ramblings about “unpredictable reality” and quasi-intellectual musings of human potential. Though the sentiment of the track runs parallel to a lot of the themes touched on in Sophie’s music, it lacks the edge, charm, and succinctness that accompanies her previous tracks. Compare this to the eight minute closer “Whole New World/Pretend World” off of Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides, and the difference is night and day between an exciting and mild Sophie track with extended length.
After this track, “Reason Why” featuring longtime collaborators Kim Petras and BC Kingdom quickly brings back the much-needed experimental club groove that Sophie is known for, and it stands as the best track on the record. Petras’ performance and cheerfully bright lyrics about looking inside oneself and evaluating life resonate in a way that much of the album doesn’t, and it is easily one of the most fleshed out songs. The sixth track “Live In My Truth” featuring BC Kingdom and Liz Y2K, a bubbly pop and R&B artist, matches the vibe of the last song with its cheery optimism and fun, jumpy production that fits in a club setting. The added appearance from BC Kingdom lends itself well to the sparkly aesthetic attached to a Sophie track, and the lyrics about living one’s truth are as reassuring as you can get for a club banger. “Why Lies” featuring BC Kingdom and Liz Y2K sees the former continuing the streak of the last two tracks, even if it is the weakest of the three. The refrain shouts “candy in the air” and the verses nod to Sophie’s previous work with “immaterial boys and girls,” making for a playful track that pays homage in a tasteful way.
Though the last three tracks manage to hit the mark accurately in providing an experimental yet fun club romp, the album quickly manages to fall back into middling territory with the start of the second half. The following track “Do You Wanna Be Alive” featuring Big Sister (A.K.A. Signe Pierce), an American performance and digital artist, sounds especially empty after the energetic BC Kingdom tracks. Though it features a few ear-catching sounds and an admittedly humorous performance from Big Sister on the chorus as well as sexually attention-grabbing lyrics, the track doesn’t have much going on to make it exciting compared to the tracks that preceded it.
The ninth track “Elegance” featuring Popstar has some interesting switchups littered throughout, and feels like an appropriate soundscape for a late night rave, but it also has some production choices that feel more garish than anything. The flat, sharp percussion of the beat stands out, and the end of the track feels too wet and heavy on the reverb. The same could be said about the introduction to “Berlin Nightmare” featuring Sophie’s partner Evita Manji. The bassy, low synth work on the track shifts between giving the song a punchy feel for a rave track and then a warbled, farty sound that feels more amateurish than intentional. Still, it remains one of the more arresting tracks on this second half where most of the songs seem to blend in with one another.
The eleventh track “Gallop” featuring Evita Manji is a brief, fast-paced instrumental that feels much like the gallop that the title alludes to, and it carries a lot of personal weight for Manji as a collaboration between partners debuted at their Boiler Room set in late 2020. Though it’s arguably too short to make much of an impact, it’s fun while it lasts.Next, “One More Time” features Popstar, and spends half of its runtime with subdued textures and sounds like it’s being played underwater before reemerging in the latter half. Of all the songs, it definitely is among the most frustrating and confusing as to why the production sounds so incomplete. The track feels more like filler than anything, meant simply to take up time before the next track picks up the pace. Thankfully, “Exhilarate” features an admirable performance from Bibi Bourelly, who is most known for co-writing some songs for Rihanna and Demi Lovato among many others. It has an anthemic feel that, while still lacking in daring sounds, is much less of a slog in comparison to the rest of the second half, and Bourelly’s vocals compliment the instrumentals quite nicely.
The fourteenth track “Always and Forever” features longtime friend and P.C. Music collaborator, Hannah Diamond, and it stands out as the emotional core of the album. The dreamy vocals from Diamond and the luscious, elusive instrumentals help stir up a genuinely heartfelt moment that reads as a parting speech from one friend to another, cherishing the legacy and music they made with one another, shining bright “always and forever.” It’s certainly an effective moment on the album, shortly followed by the penultimate track “My Forever” featuring Cecile Believe, a synth-pop/dream pop solo project from Montreal. Compared to the last song, it feels sluggish and plodding in a way that lacks any clear identity. It’s pretty straightforward in its execution and leaves a lot of room for someone to come in and add some finishing touches for a more standout track. As is, however, it remains low-energy, allowing for an almost equally low-energy closer, “Love Me Off Earth” featuring Doss, a NYC DJ who has collaborated before with Sophie on a remix of Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides. The thumping of the beat helps carry it along for the majority of the runtime, but it feels somewhat unsatisfying both instrumentally and lyrically for the closing statement on this commemorative record.
Though the album is not without its bright spots, there aren’t enough to save the record from being disappointing. It feels unreflective of the tremendous impact that Sophie left as a pop genius, though to the credit of the album’s remaining producers, it was most certainly no small feat to accomplish. The album comes from a good place of carrying on the memory of a close friend and icon, but it’s too devoid of identity and that magic touch from Sophie to carry it through. The album can’t help but feel long and lacking in several moments, leading to one of my personal biggest disappointments for the year. However, I would hate for this to dissuade newer listeners from checking out Sophie’s back catalog of superb music that helped define pop standards for the next decade. Regardless of how this posthumous release is received, audiences will always remember the fantastic, glittery legacy that Sophie left upon the pop world and always have newer artists who are more than excited to share in that legacy.
