SOHN
Dead Wrong
This song should make your head bob. It should make your face screw up and turn to the person listening next to you with a look that says, “this shit is nasty!” Because it is nasty.
The song doesn’t really start until about four bars in, with a whip-like snare drum establishing the back beat. The melody delicately hangs together, featuring an analog synth with a hint of portamento. This all combines to create a sense of whimsey and lightheartedness.
But it soon becomes unclear where this is going. The buoyant melody hits a minor key and becomes moodier, indicating this may not be the song we were expecting.
Then the opening line hits.
“I know, when it all began / You laid tracks that you don’t feel like going down.”
It’s these contrasts that make this song so interesting. It’s the delicate melody and percussion against dire warnings of self-destruction that border accusation. It's the evolution from whimsey to a fat, nasty, heavy-bottomed synth and layer upon layer of SOHNs insistent admonishments.
“If it feels dead wrong, then it probably is.”
Is your head bobbing yet? If not, turn it up.
Still Waters
This is such an interesting song, and different than many of SOHN’s other songs. His music is generally moody and danceable, or a moody slow drip that makes you want to crawl into a ball on your floor and rock back and forth with all your #feelings.
Still Waters is… reverent, almost hopeful. It reminds me of early Annie Lennox, 90’s Annie, even though I can’t put my finger on any particular song. It’s probably the contralto style in which he sings, also reminding me of Rhye/Milosh's vocal style.
Like Dead Wrong, Still Waters starts incredibly stripped down. Fundamentally it’s just a reverb-drenched horn that hits a single note, a hi hat that hits twice per measure, and what sounds like a cello to round out the bottom end. It’s not until SOHN’s pleas for strength build into a crescendo and his vocals overtake all of the sonic space available, that he finally offers us a kick drum and bass line.
I wouldn’t change a thing.
Live
I missed SOHN in NYC on the tour for his last album, Tremors. I was thrilled to see him announce a show at Warsaw up in Greenpoint for his second tour, celebrating his second release, Rennen. Warsaw is a funny venue - it's a Polish community center and you're watching shows in what's essentially a school gymnasium. But everyone has beer, there are no seats, and the sound is amazing. So it's an... awesome gymnasium? All I know is I've loved every show I've seen there. There's really not a bad place to stand, the beer is cheap, the sound is on point.
Enjoy
SOHN recently released his second album, Rennen, and is currently touring to celebrate it. Definitely get a ticket if he's coming to your town. Rennen has a distinctly different flavor than his first album Tremors, but both are great creative pieces and worth absorbing.