Panamanian singer-songwriter Sofía Valdés has released her self-titled album, Sofía Valdés.
Blending lyrics in both Spanish and English, Sofía Valdés has used this album to blend together all her favourite influences, which range from Motown to British folk music to Elliott Smith.
A musician from an early age, Sofía Valdés picked up guitar at age 8 and wrote her first song at age 13. Her new self-titled album is her second LP after her last effort Ventura.
Starting the album off with the bilingual “Silvia,” the track opens up with a small horn section before setting off into bossa nova territory. Influenced by Panamanian Tamborito music, this track features Sofía Valdés singing about a beautiful woman’s journey from Cuba and her place as a muse.
Moving on to “Midnight Freak-Out,” this melancholic track features Sofía Valdés singing “It’s been a while since I’ve been around/It’s been a while since I’ve seen you out/Have you changed your hair?/Would you mind to share”, evoking the feeling of trying to connect to old memories that feel far away. Much slower than “Silvia,” this track has a dream-pop quality that really suits the uncertainty the lyrics are trying to convey.
The third track “Tacones Por La Puerta” opens up with a plucked guitar melody that immediately brings Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” to mind, which fits the heartbroken vibe of the song completely. A Spanish-language track, “Tacones Por La Puerta” has Sofía Valdés singing sadly about a situation where “a heart has no patience”.
Next up is “Easy,” which switches the language back to English. Equal parts Incubus and Rilo Kiley, “Easy” mixes together strong use of hi-hats on the drums with some surprising synth hits. These elements complement the genuinely angry lyrics, “lost my temper on a splinter/are you good? Is this it?/maybe get back in touch with that kid/it’s easy, easy” even while it’s difficult to tell if Sofía Valdés is mad at someone else or herself.
Swiftly going into “Already Yours,” this track is where Sofía Valdés Motown influences really shine, featuring jangly, reverberating guitars, angelically harmonic backing vocals, and a strong bass line. Accompanied by a music video, “Already Yours” sees Sofía Valdés reach into the higher notes of her register to sing “I can almost see us happening/But I’ve seen it before/It can end as fast as it begins/But it feels like I’m already yours.” “Already Yours,” more than any other song on the album, really epitomises the sense of yearning that is threaded throughout each track.
The sixth track “Barbed Wire” strips back the bigger sounds of the album so far as it opens quietly with gentle guitar paired with whispered vocals before the tambourine comes in and the sound slowly fills out. Sweet and gentle, this track once again has Sofía Valdés yearning for something that should have happened differently, especially conveyed by lyrics like “going back and forth with what happened/I maybe made it up, though I doubt it,” before the track meets an abrupt end.
The next track “Wild” attempts a more soundscape-style, dream-pop approach with the vocals and instruments all echoing through the track, which fits in well with the evocative way Sofía Valdés sings “Won’t stop until you notice me/I know we’re not meant to be” seemingly to somebody who doesn’t or won’t, hear her.
Featuring American singer DannyLux, the eighth track “Lento” (“Slow”) is a Spanish-language duet as the two trade lyrics back and forth about waiting for love or whether it’s even worth it to do so. The static-like sound effect layered through the song also helps create this sense of feedback between the two singers, creating the sense that they’ve reached the same conclusions about the song’s subject matter.
Next up is “Un Momento”, which sees the album reach for the Elliott Smith inspiration on the slightly discordant guitars, simple piano melody, and sesquipedalian lyrics. They might say “I know it’s a little bit overdone,” but “Um Momento” is the perfect length for a quiet song about (yet more) yearning.
The final track and the second of two collaborations, the tenth track ”How’s That Working Out” features singer Cuco for Sofía Valdés to play off against as the ‘crazy ex.’ Featuring a modern bossa nova rhythm, this track is unlike any other on the album: playful and bouncy, this track is much less about yearning and more about a more straightforward bad break-up, especially clear in lyrics like “New girl thinks that you might be the one/Take all that I gave you, pass it on/And I’m still right here where you left me”. On this track, Sofía Valdés is pissed and she wants her ex to know.
At a concise 32 minutes, Sofía Valdés’ self-titled sophomore album is a well-traveled journey through several genres with a central theme of yearning and trying to find answers to difficult questions.
Connect with Sofía Valdés on Instagram or her website.
Listen to the album here.
