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Sophia - ‘There Are No Goodbyes’

Sophia continues his obsession with darkly confessional string-laden acoustic ballads...

Rating: 7

Robin Proper-Sheppard, as well as having one of the best names in rock, has ploughed a lonely furrow since the implosion of the much-missed God Machine, and his fifth album as Sophia continues his obsession with darkly confessional string-laden acoustic ballads. Like Mark Kozelek, Proper-Sheppard is unafraid to strip songs down to the rawest of emotions, especially on the burnished regret of the title track and mournful country rock of ‘Something’ while ‘Something’ while ‘There are No Goodbyes’ lyrical honesty and stately beauty suggest that Sophia’s widescreen melancholia is finally ready for a bigger stage.

Neil Gardner