EP Review: Sonia Stein - 'Eat Your Words'

Rising singer and songwriter Sonia Stein deals with heartache and false promises on her new three-track EP, ‘Eat Your Words’, produced by Ben Jones (Kelly Rowland, Tinie Tempah, Mary J Blige).

’Eat Your Words’ opens with the sparse, trickling electronics and melodic yet wonky guitar textures of ‘House in Spain’, tenderly building into crisp hip hop beats, layering in intensity alongside Sonia Stein’s rich, melancholic vocal. This track really shows off Sonia’s vocal range which rattles with the pain of being let down in a past relationship. Sonia describes this track as the rawest song on her EP, which she wrote during the shock of suddenly realising her relationship was unexpectedly ending. “The house in Spain is a reference to an actual plan that we had made, something that I felt was proof for the fact that the relationship was going somewhere and had a future”.

The theme of things being said and then unofficially being taken back runs through the whole EP. ‘Party’ tap into an upbeat, retro-tinged indie pop soundscape adding a danceable twist to the humiliation and disappointment in Sonia’s soulful delivery of the lyrics, “Shouldn’t we at least have a party, how could you leave so unceremoniously, I wanna wear a dress that says, “how could you have said those things” and you should wear something that says, “I’m sorry I lied”. This song is inspired by the popular, spineless and disrespectful trend of ghosting, “‘Party is about wanting an explanation, wondering why someone would make such a big deal of something and let it go without feeling the need to say goodbye or explain”.

The EP closes with ‘Sad Little Raft’ which features sombre, eerie textures and is the track on the EP that arguably holds the most grief and mourning both sonically and thematically. But through this Sonia finds closure, and ‘Sad Little Raft’ adds warmer textures as it develops alongside Sonia’s gentle soulful vocal “you said the words and it turned out you lied, but don’t worry on my sad little raft there’s still truth“, seeing Sonia pull back her integrity.

’Eat Your Words’ is an intimate and confessional EP in pursuit of closure. In sharing her experiences, Sonia also throws other people a lifeline who can relate to the pain and humiliation of being cut off so cruelly by someone who you trusted. But the theme is tackled with maturity and despite its emotive subject matter and melancholic undertones, the EP juggles light and shade in a way that makes for a very enjoyable listen.

Words of Karla Harris

Listen to ‘Eat Your Words’ on Spotify, here.