Band of the Week: The Secret Life of Sofia

Earlier this week I was trying to get The Secret Life of Sofia to play my next show on Staten Island. Unfortunately it didn't work out, but they are sending me their new LP to make up for it so I'm pretty stoked about that especially because it means I won't have to be stopping by their myspace page each day to get my fill of their music! Instead I'll have it right there in the palm of my hand to listen to whenever I get the sudden urge for some dark, etheral, folk rock!

Now you may be asking yourselves, what is folk rock? Isn't that a contradiction of terms? Well, yes and no. For years folk has been considered the simple world of the singer/songwriter, a world where acoustic guitars reign supreme, and full bands are more or less banished from the land. But slowly the genre has begun to warp itself. More and more bands are playing these slow tempo tunes, that reek of folk, but also have elements of rock music buried (or not so buried) in them. Bits and pieces like drums, basses, even keyboards have crept their way into the folk world and a whole other sub genre has been formed, and I know how much you love sub genres! Anyway, The Secret Life of Sofia are definitely knee deep within this genre of music, hell they even admit to it on their myspace page, and the tunes on said page are fantastic tunes.

Like most folk tunes, the songs here are slowed down and give off a calming effect on the listener. After a little while listening you might feel a bit drowsy, or so complacent that you forget about the other things you have to do in your life and just keep listening. It's like aural marijuana! But as slowed down and folky as it can be, there are some truly deep elements in this band's songs. Intricate lyrics, hushed vocals, and tons of subtle percussion make the music feel like more then some coffee house hack. It's a brilliat effect to have such wonderfully layered sounds from such simple music.

I had brief thoughts of not bestowing my Band of the Week label on The Secret Life of Sofia becuase they couldn't play my July show, but then I realized what a dick that would make me and so here they are my first Band of the Week for the month of July! The band defintiely deserves it and hopefully we'll get them out to Staten Island for a show sooner rather then later. For now you'll have to enjoy them on the slew of dates they'll be embarking on later this month! Enjoy!!!
The Secret Life of Sofia - "Outside"
The Secret Life of Sofia - "Nanda Devi"
Buy Seven Summits EP
The Secret Life of Sofia on Myspace

The Secret Life of Sofia on Tour:
July 25th @ Pete's Candy Store, Brooklyn, NY
July 26th @ Double Wide, Pittsburgh, PA
July 27th @ Carabar, Columbus, OH
July 28th @ TBA, Louisville, KY
July 29th @ TBA, Bloomington, IN
July 30th @ TBA, Marion, IN
July 31st @ Howard's Club H, Bowling Green, OH
August 1st @ Village Green Records, Muncie, IN
August 2nd @ Catacombs, Butler, PA