lambchops's Full Review: Wilderness by Sophie B. Hawkins
Sophie B. Hawkins was once best known for the single Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover. Now, however, she is notable because of her legal success against an eBay seller selling promotional copies of her then yet unreleased album Wilderness. It was a minor victory, but one still well warranted for the singer-songwriter who was releasing the album independently. Plus, one poor sucker paid an outrageous $300 for an individual promo sans artwork.
Though, as of April 20th all Hawkins fans have a chance to own her newest release on the Trumpet Swan label. Wilderness is the fourth album from the songstress and the first since 2001’s Timbre. Hawkins’ career has been full of ups and downs. Of course, her 1992 debut Tongues and Tails yielded the aforementioned hit Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover. But follow-up Whaler failed to impress with a significantly pared down sound and calmer presentation. It has been a while since I’ve heard much from Hawkins so Wilderness comes as a surprise.
A keen blend of acoustic guitar, hip dance beats, and dusky vocals, Wilderness is an occasionally appealing album. And though I can’t say I enjoy every moment, there are enough good things to outweigh the bad (and occasionally overtly melodramatic). If there is one bad thing I can apply to most everything here it would be that it sounds a bit like adult contemporary pop from the early 1990’s. This isn’t to say it is bad, but just maybe a wee bit dated—heck it reminds me of High School.
The high points are pretty outstanding. Album opener Beautiful Girl in addition to Meet Me On A Rooftop, Walking On Thin Ice, Surfer Girl, Adrian and Angel of Darkness strike a minor chord. Save for the last song I mentioned, these are all upbeat pop tracks. In the context of Wilderness, I think Hawkins is most impressive when she doesn’t try too hard. These songs seem to come naturally and easily to her and brush my ears with a similar feeling. Beautiful Girl was the album’s first single and Walking On Thin Ice will be the second, but my favorite track is unquestionably Meet Me On A Rooftop. A light, chipper, summery song it stands out easily as the album’s best. I offer up a basket full of kudos to Hawkins for her clear dedication and hard work, but still cannot quite connect to her music.
In an effort to discover why it is that Wilderness sounds good but feels bad, I have to further discuss the songs I don’t like. The album itself seems a bit chaotic. There’s a pop song here (Beautiful Girl), a traditional and painfully dated ballad there (Blue), and a Latin tinged mid-tempo selection way over on an island somewhere in the Atlantic (Soul Lover). The lack of consistency is what troubles me. I don’t ever want an album to repeat itself over the course of twelve or fourteen songs, but some amount of theme makes for a more rewarding listen. Also problematic are the songs that are sappy and melodramatic—I despise tracks that try too hard to pull insincere amounts of emotion from the audience. This is the case with all too many of the songs on Wilderness--Open Up Your Eyes, Walking On Thin Ice, Sweetsexywoman, and so many others.
Wilderness is a fine enough album. It will undoubtedly find an audience amongst Hawkins fans, but I find it difficult to believe that any new listeners will be drawn to her work by this material. I want to love Wilderness…I really do. But truth be told it is dated and unoriginal. Had there been more direction and consistency I would have better appreciated it, but as it currently stands I am only modestly touched by some of the songs.
Rating: 3/5 stars
Track Listing:
01. Beautiful Girl
02. Open Up Your Eyes
03. Meet Me On A Rooftop
04. Walking On Thin Ice
05. Blue
06. Sweetsexywoman
07. Surfer Girl
08. Adrian
09. Soul Lover
10. Angel of Darkness
11. You Make Me High
12. Feelin’ Good
13. Soul Lover [bonus]
14. Beautiful Girl [multimedia]
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