Written by Zackarie Weber

Photography by Rishita Nannapaneni

Modeled by Aliyah Rivero, Hope Goodyear, & Kimberly Korn

The posthumous, self-titled album from SOPHIE — a visionary for experimental music and hyperpop — was released on Sept. 25. With the help of her brother, Benny Long, and many former collaborators, we get one last look at her and the legacy she brought to the world. 

Due to the album being released posthumously and not being made solely by SOPHIE, we will never know what her true vision was for this project. That aside, the record offers anthemic highs worth celebrating and unfinished products that still feel like demos.

“SOPHIE" takes a different direction than her first album, “Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides,” her most critically acclaimed project. Before her death in 2021, she hinted through DJ sets that her next album, while keeping her authentic sound, was going to be club-centric and more mainstream. This is illustrated by the laser light show artwork on the album cover, which is reminiscent of a dark club on a weekend night. All of this is demonstrated throughout the album’s tracks, which can be easily split into four sets that mimic DJ sets. The track sets are as follows: 1-4, 5-7, 8-12, and 13-16. Each section tries something different, whether it be moody ambient tracks, thumping deconstructed club tracks, or ecstatic club hits. The album’s variety makes most songs playlist-worthy, however, not every set hits the highs that listeners expected.

In tracks 1-4, the album begins with “Intro (The Full Horror),” a great dark, ambient piece to showcase the darker side this project has to offer. The slow opener builds anticipation for an amazing high, but unfortunately, the weakest track follows: “RAWWWWW.” This trap-influenced song does not expand after the first track and struggles to fit in with the album in any way. The next song, “Plunging Asymptote,” was first released in 2019 under one of SOPHIE’s side projects, “Analemma.” After that is a song released in 2019 under the name “Analemma” called “Plunging Asymptote.” Repurposed for the album, it is able to keep SOPHIE’s signature sound, but its placement in the album feels very off. It proves to not be strong enough to improve the first portion of the album after the disappointing “RAWWWWWW.” Track four, “The Dome’s Protection,” is another ambient piece sounding more ethereal than “Intro (The Full Horror)” because of a vocally ambiguous monologue throughout the song. Unfortunately, the ambient pads never evolve for seven and a half minutes, leaving the listener waiting for the song to end just a few minutes in. “Intro (The Full Horror)” and "The Dome’s Protection" are the only two ambient tracks in the album, and with two tracks between these lengthy pieces, it does not feel like the album truly “starts” until track 5. Already, a quarter of the album feels empty.

Tracks 5-7 are considered the “club hits” of this album. They are all very fun, poppy songs with basic song structures and multiple vocal features. It starts with “Reason Why," with vocals from BC Kingdom and Kim Petras. This song was the first taste of the album in June of this year, and the reception was very positive. This is easily one of the strongest songs off the album with a fun and simple melody and a great feature from Petras. The follow-up song, “Live In My Truth,” is just as strong as the previous. It mimics the bubblegum bass genre that SOPHIE is known for, featuring high-pitched vocals and bubbly production. BC Kingdom, the main vocalist, does a great job keeping the energy going, while the weakest part is LIZ’s feature, which struggles to be present in the song. The last song in the trio is “Why Lies,” which calls back to the golden era of PC Music — a record label created by A.G. Cook. However, it struggles to have the same energy as its companions — it feels like it’s missing an instrument or two to fully complete the song. The vocals are also a little too high-pitched and come off as grating. This set does a great job at setting a fun mood for the album, but it also shows where some sections needed to be added or fixed.

Tracks eight through 12 are the most experimental club tracks from the album. “Do You Wanna Be Alive” is a techno track with classic hyperpop vocals. It is a rather fun track in the collection but struggles to stand out from other songs, having gaps that make it feel incomplete. The ninth song, “Elegance," is another techno track with hardstyle elements and is a very hypnotic listen in the middle of the album. However, the second half turns into a slower, mid-tempo techno track that struggles to have the same grip as the first half of the song. Next is “Berlin Nightmare,” which is a dark, deconstructed club song. The song struggles with unfinished pieces and a questionable mixing. It is unclear what sound the producers wanted as the centerpiece in the song, leaving listeners confused. “Gallop” is next in the set and is my favorite song in this section. It is another thumping techno song that succeeds at not overstaying its welcome, yet being memorable as a quick gem. Finally, “One More Time” is a trance-like track that takes too long to get to its energetic high and does not stay there long enough after the build up. Being the most experimental set of this album, we see a further striking issue with slight mixing issues throughout and noticeable unfinished portions.

Tracks 13-16 finish the album at its peak with a mix of four energetic and moody tracks reminiscing on SOPHIE’s sudden passing. “Exhilarate" has a very grandiose chorus with vocals by Bibi Bourelly but is the weakest of the four tracks in this set. It sounds the most palatable and has the least of SOPHIE’s charm. “Always and Forever" is the next track featuring a hyperpop staple, Hannah Diamond. “Always and Forever” is a moody piece that discusses Diamond’s relationship with SOPHIE, while saying that SOPHIE will never be forgotten. With its meaningful lyrics and nods to Diamond’s sound, this track becomes one of the most thought-provoking on the album. “My Forever" is a synthpop track that is the album’s biggest highlight, with the most character and charm. It is very easy to fall into the song’s atmosphere and has a beautiful earworm of a chorus. “Love Me Off Earth" ends the album with a beautiful techno piece that carries the style change that was intended in this project. Doss, the song’s feature, does a great job at encompassing SOPHIE’s elements while adding her flair to make a great conclusion to this album and a farewell to SOPHIE.

Overall, Long and all the other collaborators did a great job at keeping SOPHIE’s legacy strong. However, this album does raise a question on posthumous albums. We will never know if SOPHIE would have released an album at this state in time or if she would have been appreciative of the final product. There was obvious intent to make this album for her rather than the money that many other posthumous albums are created for. However, with making sure that the album felt authentically “SOPHIE,” we see little to no creative risks that the producer is known for. This makes the album suffer from half-baked songs that leave listeners questioning if it would have been better to not release the album at all. 

There are enough tracks to give this album a shot, and maybe you will continue to go back to a few, but the final product has left many divided on whether this is a promising final conclusion or an unfinished mess of an album that should not have been released.