Review: Modern Sophia, Muddy Demos 4 Boo

Originally posted on the Austin Chronicle’s website. Read here

Beloved kitty send-off achieves lo-fi spiritual bedroom pop sound

Many people love their cats, but not many love them enough to make an entire album dedicated to their little furballs like Loredo/Austin based artist Modern Sophia. Muddy Demos 4 Boo, made by Sophia Nance, devotes an entire project to her sadly deceased cat, Boo, via sassy, shuffling pop playing in mellow psychedelic and electronic moods. One track in particular, “The Little Cat / Prayer for Boo,” sweetly memorializes the mouser by recounting their love: “partners in crime, and everlasting synergy.”

The short demos, though varied in substance, feel surprisingly complete. On her first album following a slew of singles, the recent UT-Austin graduate incorporates more R&B influences, amalgamated into a sort of lo-fi spiritual bedroom pop sound that makes this record stand out from her other works. Slow-tempo, lightly experimental songs like “Androkid Joiiii” or “One Cha” are filled with the artist’s soulfully soft voice and background vocals. Most of the songs on the record are short, stream-of-consciousness tracks that carry the DIY-sounding aesthetic throughout. "Delilah,” with its bluesy guitars and whimsical effects, evokes a sense of euphony that begs for vocals.

This album acts as a sketchbook for the musical process of Nance; the audience gets a glimpse into the highly varied, eclectic pop that the artist rearranges into a trip-hop-inspired sound. What the record lacks in structure, the tracklist makes up for with soul and emotion – in a send-off that only one's beloved kitty could elicit.