Feel Feelings

新進個性派女優として映画界でも注目を集めるSoKo、前作より5年ぶりの3rdアルバム!

前作『My Dreams Dictate My Reality』から約5年ぶりとなる3枚目のオリジナル・アルバム。自己愛、受容、そして人生のすべての複雑さについての夢のような広々として魅力的な12トラック!プロデューサーには最近MGMTを手掛けたパトリック・ウィンバリーを起用。

Soko releases albums so rarely that whenever a new one appears, its like catching up with an old friend in an intense, sprawling conversation. Five years on from My Dreams Dictate My Reality, Feel Feelings caps off an especially momentous half-decade in her life. She became a mother, was nominated for her second Cesar Award, and engaged in an intense workshop at the Hoffman Institute, where any distractions from therapy, from drugs to exercise, are prohibited. The clarity she gained from the experience is reflected on Feel Feelings, which flows with the sudden, intuitive understanding of a breakthrough. Sokos emotions -- loss, joy, and above all, self-awareness -- spill into each other over music thats just as uninhibited. Letting go of My Dreams Dictate My Realitys verses and choruses was a smart choice: moods and melodies go where they need to, and Soko is such a riveting presence that the lack of obvious structure only adds to her sincerity. In many ways, shes never been as emotionally and musically open as she is on Feel Feelings. Continuing the lessons she learned at the Hoffman Institute, Soko remained celibate for the 18 months it took to make the album. Its not surprising, then, that this is some of her most sensual music, from the breathy flirtation of Looking for Love to the caressing seduction of Let Me Adore You to the gorgeously erotic Oh, to Be a Rainbow!, a soulful celebration of queer sexuality in all its multi-hued glory. The throatiness of Sokos voice on this song takes on empathetic layers as she moves on from the traumas of the past elsewhere on the album. She tenderly addresses domestic abuse on Quiet Storm, and sounds just as genuine when she toughens up on Dont Tell Me to Smile. The need to share herself more wisely emerges on Replaceable Heads, where she pairs spoken-word confessions with painful realizations set to harmonies so sweet they almost take away the sting. Soko keeps just enough of the fuller musicality of My Dreams… to give flesh and blood to Feel Feelings big heart. In keeping with the albums theme, she revisits the quintessentially French sounds of her youth. On songs such as Blasphemie, the rounded bass line and tumbling melody evoke Serge Gainsbourgs Histoire de Melody Nelson (not coincidentally, this is Sokos first song en Francais), while Time Waits for No Ones synth-heavy cosmic journey echoes Airs 10,000 Hz Legend. Elsewhere, she adapts the styles of the talented friends who helped her make Feel Feelings to her own needs. Its no wonder that Hurt Me with Your Egos woozy tangle of guitars rivals DIIVs mingling of bliss and pain, considering that bands Andrew Bailey and Colin Caufield played on the album. For all its delicate sounds, Feel Feelings is a richly satisfying album. Soko demands the same commitment from her listeners that she put into making these songs, but as she combines happiness and sadness into something beautiful, the honesty in her music is mesmerizing. ~ Heather Phares