For most Australians, Stéphanie ‘Soko’ Sokolinski is best known for her late-2000s alt-radio hits I’ll Kill Her and I Will Never Love You More, all off-kilter quirk and sweetly sardonic in nature. In her native France, she’s regarded highly for her acting, spanning several feature films and a handful of TV shows. In America, she most recently came to attention when her song We Might Be Dead by Tomorrow was used in the viral video First Kiss.
For her second studio album, Sokolinski has thrown out all perceptions and preconceived notions, resulting in an album quite peculiar indeed. It’s an album primarily concerned with reverb-soaked post-punk, exploring dark corners and venturing through influences like The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees and even Ariel Pink, who contribute to two tracks here.
There was no smooth transition into this new style, which will leave many thrown by it – it could even be argued Sokolinski herself wasn’t quite prepared. Still, once the initial shock wears off, there remains hope that one will be charmed by this intriguing new endeavour – there is even room for those originally put off by Soko to find merit here.
BY DAVID JAMES YOUNG
