SOFIA ISELLA - 'Above The Neck'
SOFIA ISELLA’s unflinching body of work continues to grow with new addition ‘Above The Neck’.
After a break out year full of sell out shows and an incredible 150million streams worldwide, SOFIA ISELLA is very quickly cementing herself as one of the most formidable new voices in the industry. Her latest single, ‘Above the Neck’, is the first since her EP ‘I’m camera’ which came out in the spring and continues to demonstrate her brilliant ability to command and capture an audience. The track, which she wrote and produced herself alongside input from Mr Hudson, pushes further into spoken word and post punk territory; making use of striking drums and distorted basslines to create a soundscape that is confrontational, fiery and empowered.
A bold dissection of power, the track is an artful eruption of rage. It seeks to unpick and tackle the fetishisation of youth and the ways in which femininity is all-too-often warped and contorted into something to be consumed. In what has become her signature style, ‘Above the Neck’ is a masterclass in discipline and raw expression, with clear influence from her background in classical music and literature. Beneath the pulsing rhythms and industrial electronics, there is what sounds like dripping water and the skittering feet of mice, that feed into the grimy, grisly soundscape she is creating. Her vocals are delivered with a seething monotony that is somehow haunting, confrontational and impossible to turn away from. The moments where her tone and intonation shifts are brilliant in terms of the way they lull you into thinking she is being sarcastic and comedic, only for her to bring you crashing back to reality. Sonically, it’s nothing short of whiplash.
Lyrically, the track draws inspiration from other women who were known for their baddassery - Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, PJ Harvey and Courtney Love. Isella expertly brings together feminist lineage and history bringing in influences from the riot grrrl-punk scene from the 90s and applying them to her experience today. Her verses read like poetry turned performance art and pack punch after punch after punch, truly decimating the predatory ‘wide-eyed-kitten men’ she is speaking out against: “If something’s dirty after you touch it, the problem is your hands, dipshit. Cut it off”
With ruthless and searing honesty, she explains the frustration of only being listened to and taken seriously as a woman when you are considered as sexually attractive. She unpacks the litany of pressures put upon women, unafraid to delve into their racial and paedophilic motivations and uses language that evokes themes of hunting, savagery and consumption. Her obscenity and vulgarity is hard to hear but is deliberate in the way that it holds up a mirror to the graphic and callous attitudes she is seeking to expose.
The release keeps the momentum going for Isella who also just announced a tour titled ‘Her Desire, The Nemesis’ which kicks off in the spring as well as support slots for the certain dates on American leg of Florence And The Machine’s tour (including what will no doubt be an iconic Madison Sq Garden show). Fans eager to get tickets have plenty of time to learn all 503 of the words ready to sing along in the new year.
Words by Kirsty Thomson
