Sophie Cates Confirms A New LP & More
Boston-bred, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter/producer Sophie Cates has made a career translating her inner-monologues into vivid sonic tales. The artist’s acute storytelling abilities and indelible melodic sensibilities have led to a long list of accolades, including opening slots for renowned acts such as Jeremy Zucker and Omar Apollo, writing credits for Daya and Flume, collaborations with hyperpop legends Dylan Brady and umru, and millions of streams on her own works.
With a sound that blends elements of indie and pop with experimental electronic flourishes, Sophie has endeared fans attached to her relatable, sonically diverse style – and in the process has carved out a distinct lane for herself in the ever-growing hyperpop scene.
Now, Sophie Cates is gearing up towards her sophomore album, SUPERNOVA – a confessional, 12-track project that dives into the emotional depths of her high-profile breakup with a well-established musician.
Predominantly written in the immediate aftermath of the breakup, SUPERNOVA is a genre-blending LP that dials in on raw indie stylings, soul-crushing lyricism, and solemn, rich production. The result: an album that tells a potent story of Sophie’s mourning – an honest chronicling of her stages of grief as she reconciles with the complex, manipulative power dynamics that came from dating a famous artist in the public eye.
Sophie Cates began the SUPERNOVA rollout with three singles: “walking the dogs,” “SUPERNOVA,” and “certain light.” Replete with lush, ethereal atmospheres, sticky hooks, and piercing, kaleidoscopic songwriting, these songs represent the perfect tone-setters for the forthcoming full-length project – elegant sonic tapestries that attempt to piece together a singular truth from a time fragmented by confusion and lies.
Today, Sophie unveils the LP’s final single, “i don’t see you (how i used to)” – the most purely indie rock song on SUPERNOVA and the track that marks a definitive turning point in the record’s narrative arc. “i don’t see you (how i used to)” was the final song written for SUPERNOVA, and while the rest of the tracklist focuses on Sophie’s immersion into her own anger, frustration, and regret, this new single reflects a transition from mourning to empowering acceptance.
Written with Junior Varsity-member Zach Michel, “i don’t see you” kicks off with a soft drum beat floating underneath repeated backing vocal tones. The song then introduces nostalgic acoustic guitar strums as Sophie sings the first verse. “I believe when you said you were clean/but there was coke in the back of the drawer,” she reminisces – an evocative line that encapsulates the hurtful, distorted reality spewed by a man with more power than her.
But as the chorus comes in, supplemented by crunchy, lavish electric guitar chords, these muddled memories transform into fading ghosts, as the relief of clarity allows Sophie to recapture her identity. “Now I don’t see you/I don’t see it anymore/how I used to,” Sophie sings in a tender, poignant progression – a vocal delivery that ascends and descends into an immaculate melodic resolution.
These chorus lyrics sum up the thematic conclusions of the SUPERNOVA LP: the illusion of who she thought this person was has disappeared, replaced by the reality of his true nature – a reprieve that allows her to piece together the puzzle of her past relationship and once again feel in control of her own narrative.
Fans can catch Sophie Cates perform “i don’t see you (how i used to)” and other tracks off of SUPERNOVA on her upcoming, four-date tour, with stops in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco.
Featured Photo by Nichola Vaughan Eliot