Sophia
The Infinite Circle

A site dedicated to indie music and still no review on Sophia...has no one ever listened to The Infinite Circle? I've done it at least a thousand times, and even now, as it plays in the player, I feel the exact same sensations as the first time.

Nothing has changed, it's always autumn. The album eliminates everything that exists around me, it demands my complete surrender. I think: it's been happening like this for years...there must be a reason...if I don't take off the headphones, these melodies will captivate me and I won't be able to write even this time... "I'm losing my direction.....losing my direction..."

I catch my breath after If Only, track no. 2. Robin Proper-Sheppard is a genius. He is the creator of Sophia. He tells his stories, his pain, to himself, with great honesty, with an acoustic guitar and an electric guitar that chase each other gently and then find themselves, creating perfect designs and wide spaces in which my imagination can manifest as revelation.

Amazing the fact that Robin, starting from claims of great schematic simplicity, reaches a melodic magnificence without equal. The tone is subdued, the songs slow, the pathos immense, heart-wrenching, I can sense it from the very beginning of the songs, until it gradually builds up, sublime. Occasionally the strings, the piano, echoes of guitar. And everything is as it is because it couldn't be otherwise, every note is perfect, evocative. One cannot do without this album.