London-based singer-songwriter Sophie Jamieson releases her second album ‘I Still Want to Share’ via Bella Union on 17 January. The record is packed with observations on the inescapable and often repeated nature of loving, losing and longing…
‘Camera’ opens the record with evocative piano and strings as Sophie sings about ‘letting go of all you’ve got to find it’. Bringing to mind the powerful yet glacial nature of The Unthanks, this is a sound that continues through on ‘Vista’, albeit this one has a more gothic and direct undercurrent: ‘When you ask me what I’m thinking, I’m sorry love, I’ve got to concentrate on the steering’.
‘I Don’t Know What to Save’ finds Sophie trying to recover from something major in unassumingly anthemic fashion – ‘build it back together when it breaks’ – while ‘Baby’ has a touch of Frightened Rabbit in its masterful instrumentation and wordplay: ‘Tell them that he knew me and dig a tunnel through me’. ‘How Do You Want to Be Loved’ has darkness in the lyrics and a light touch to the music while ‘Your Love is a Mirror’ also has a pining, personal touch: ‘The chorus that’s waking me up is all that I could want. Don’t tell me that I’m wrong’.
The album closes with ‘Time Pulls You Over Backwards’, a song packed with gorgeous harmonies and refined, restrained melody. It’s a fitting finale. This is a record you’ll also want to share…
