Anna Sofia: A New Indie-Pop Sound

By Taylor Payne, Staff Writer

Following the release of her first EP 'Self Aware Bitch' in early February, Anna Sofia didn't waste a second, releasing her second EP 'Broken Promises' in July.

The EP displays an honest, cynical depiction of teenage feelings, problems, and just life in general. Kicking the project off with a punchy surge of bass hits between melodic lyrics on the title track of "Broken Perfection," the song highlights the struggle to maintain a picturesque relationship with a love interest.

When talking about the concept of perfection, she says she doesn’t believe in it, and this track sets the precedent of her positive attitude, and being optimistic about her "broken" situation.

The second track on the EP, "Don’t Play Pretend," sums up that idea perfectly with the lines, "I'm on that juice cleanse with a cigarette," and "I'm a mess, least I don't play pretend." This style of acknowledging one's problems but being okay with it is what sets her apart from her contemporaries in the pop genre.

Taking inspiration from Elton John and Michael Jackson, Anna Sofia attempts to bridge the gap between funk staples of the 80s and 90s with current pop waves.

This can be found on the fourth track of the EP, "Chill," where Sofia’s vocals ride on a bouncy synth and a drum beat that mimics the feeling of staying at home all day, which relates to a lot of teens at the time of release due too the coronavirus outbreak causing lots of students to take online classes and stay home.

During a °1824 press conference, Sofia stated some creative experiences she's had during quarantine, such as dying her hair so much it "turned from a hobby to a lifestyle."

Changing her hair influenced her so much that it became the concept for the lead single "Happy For You," an upbeat interpretation of acceptance when it comes to moving on from a break up once a significant other finds someone else.

But Sofia isn't just releasing EPs about being in relationships and the influences of social media, she is also picking up hobbies like painting, and reading books just like any other sixteen-year-old.

Since Sofia is so young and early in her career, it's hard to tell what alleys she will take with her sound in the future, but she has already proved that she's a promising talent, attempting to bring to light unfiltered experiences of high school using indie-pop music as her catalyst.