Sofi Gev and the unbearable beauty of "Horrors in the Dark"

 

"hanging on by the last loose thread..."

"Horrors in the Dark" is an ominous title and while it is informed by unbearably sad soul breaking occurrences it moves in soothing ways. The soundscape feels like the sun rising and creatures beckoning for warmth. A gentle beat runs under pushed guitar strains and droning synths sounds. Sofi Gev's (the solo project of singer-songwriter indie pop artist Hannah Lovelady) vocal aesthetic is tender and softly drawn but the words that tumble from her lips cut deeply, "hanging on my the last loose thread / cut myself with the daggers in my head / now I don't open my mouth so the blood won't come pouring out...", and while the poetic shapes might lessen the punch, those words and bending electric guitar lines start to bend inward like a mirage.

Of the track, Lovelady opens herself up:

I wrote “Horrors in the Dark” after my mother lost her brother to suicide, which was and remains unbearably hard. My uncle was a towering figure and a gentle soul, wise and compassionate. The third verse is an homage to him, who we lost far too early, and to the power of his life and legacy. His passing and the grief of all the people who loved him made me think about how we all have some kind of trauma inside of us that never fully heals. The kind of pain that is very difficult to even talk about. “Horrors” uses metaphors to convey how we dance around our deepest fears that we sometimes twist into something else entirely in our minds because they’re too painful to face head on. But these dark things in our lives are still always a part of us."

Sofi Gev wrote "Horrors in the Dark" with her producer, Nate Pyfer (Kaskade, The Moth and the Flame, Sego), and co-writer, Chris Scharman. The strings were arranged by Stuart Maxfield (Fictionist, s2_Cool, Mr. Mental). 

Art with and informed by the hard edges of life make us remember that life is a struggle, a balance of dark and light things and sharing those times with each other, in some way, unites us all.


-Robb Donker Curtius

Sofi Gev · Horrors in the Dark

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Sofi Gev is the solo project of American singer-songwriter and indie pop artist Hannah Lovelady. Influenced by such artists as Birdy, Aurora, Maggie Rogers, Coeur De Pirate, Regina Spektor, Shara Nova of My Brightest Diamond, and Natasha Khan of Bat for Lashes, her music layers introspective, offbeat lyrics and delicate vocals over a dreamy blend of indie pop, electronica, and indie folk. Her earliest and most enduring musical influence came from her father singing Joni Mitchell songs to her at night as a child.

Sofi Gev’s songwriting began in her childhood, entertaining herself on family road trips by making up silly songs with her younger sister. After piano lessons, she started playing the French horn in middle school band class and continued through high school. She honed her sense of melody by singing the words of recipes from cookbooks accompanied by her father playing acoustic guitar.

If you listen closely, you will hear revealed in an intimate yet universal way a woman bravely, fearfully, but honestly embracing and confronting life.

Sofi Gev, Indie Folk, Indie Pop, Bedroom / Lo-fi Pop, singer songwriter, "Horrors in the Dark", metaphors to convey how we dance around our deepest fears