Sophie (Chanko) Dare

FOR FANS OF: Chelsea Cutler, FLETCHER, Halsey

LISTEN HERE:

https://open.spotify.com/album/3nP0DOBWPfEToiDGMXZCAb?si=frTSCC1kRVSiAFXd8LRdpA

This debut LP from talented pop vocalist Lennon Stella brings both catchy, dancey beats and mellow, lo-fi sounds to the table. The Canada native rose to fame on the hit ABC show Nashville in the early 2010's, and after releasing an EP in 2018, she's finally released a full-length album with her own distinct style.

Much Too Much begins the record with a daunting question of “do you really want this? Be honest” Questions of if a relationship is still worth fighting for float in between synths and light, airy background vocals.

Kissing Other People has been out since last year, and is the single that grabbed my attention in the first place. Lennon shows off her wide vocal range in the adventurous melodies, and the song has an easy groove that you can't help but sway to.

Games exposes the vicious cycle of a boy playing hard to get:

You like games way more than you like me

You like games, but that's all we'll ever be

'Cause you like games and I don't wanna play no longer

Game over

Fear of Being Alone brings the energy up with a disco-flavored beat and bassline that seems like it belongs playing in a bar downtown somewhere. It's got a darker feel than the rest of the tracks on this album, with more foreboding chords and slightly dissonant underpinnings.

Pretty Boy tells the story of wanting to get deeper than surface-level interactions with someone, but eventually realizing that they're just another pretty face with a shallow personality. The instrumentals evoke the stylings of house DJ's.

I've been enjoying Golf On TV for quite a while now, as it was released as a single in February, and I'm still not sick of it. It's a sweet tune about finally finding security and stability in a healthy, loving relationship. I really love the sentiment that's expressed so cleverly in the main lines of the chorus:

Some people wanna switch it up, like just one love could never be enough

But some people watch golf on TV

And neither of those things make sense to me

Older Than I Am brings us to a tender, vulnerable musical moment. Lennon sings about wishing sometimes that she could just act young and reckless, instead of handling the pressures and struggles of life all herself.

Oh, I do all my own fighting, I'm who I confide in

Maybe I need help, no

I won't deny it, I won't deny it

Here's Lennon's commentary on the creation of the next track, Bend Over Backwards:

“This one I wrote in LA. It’s about wanting to not completely mold into what other people want of you. It’s me saying, “I can compromise with you and I’m down to be polite and not overstep, but I’m also not going to bend over backwards and completely lose my initial vision over something that you want.” It doesn’t have to be creatively. It can be in relationships, too.”

(from *genius.com*)

Musically, it's got some interesting, twangy synth sounds, and a brighter, 80's pop feel.

Jealous was released as a single prior to the album, and I loved it so much, I wrote a Single Saturday review all about it, check it out here!

Since I Was A Kid reflects on Lennon's childhood in a surprisingly positive light, talking about how she's always been able to fight her own battles, keep a positive outlook, and pick herself up when she gets down.

Weakness (Huey Lewis) is the most experimental this album gets, with distinct sections, interludes, and clocking in at almost eight minutes long. It begins with a sweet home video audio clip of a younger Lennon putting her baby sister to sleep. Once the music begins, it's a stripped, acoustic duet between Lennon and her now-16 year old sister, Maisy. The two sisters performed together for years on Nashville, and they sing about their close emotional bond with each other:

But when your eyes are leaking, that's my weakness

When your smile's in pieces, that's when I feel it all

The final third of the song switches into a darker soundscape and vocoder harmonies, echoing Billie Eilish or Imogen Heap. It yearns for lost childhood memories, and mourns the slow breaking apart of their family through their parents' divorce.

What about our family? What about the house we used to know?

Where it seemed honest

Where we would fall asleep to Huey Lewis on repeat

What happened to us?

Please, remember they're out of their minds

Please, remember it's just gonna take time

Save Us was another intriguing track to me, because I could have sworn I'd heard it before. The outro of the song, as well as a couple lines in the verses, sounded so familiar, and I figured out that it's an interpolation of Donna Lewis's 1996 hit “I Love You Always Forever.” The funny thing is, I had never even heard the original song- I knew the tune from Betty Who's reworked cover of it!

Regardless of who borrowed the song from whom, Lennon's version is a song dedicated to her sister:

“This one, again, is about Maisy — the idea of no matter what, no matter where you go, no matter how fast you get there, I’ll always be there with you.”

(from genius.com)

Goodnight wraps up the record with a soft, piano-driven tune that hopes to hear “goodnight” and not a final “goodbye.” It uses jazzy chords and sends us off with a dreamy, lo-fi outro:

Cause we know goodbye's the end

Thanks for reading!