Sophia Alexa just dropped her brand new single “Losing by a Landslide!” It’s a folk-pop track that delves into the insecurities created by societal expectations for young adults. As an adult, she feels inadequate compared to the standards set up for her. She starts off the song by painting a late night scene in her room, the street lights burning through her windows. She “sick into [her] stomach/holding conversations with the moon.” She mindlessly scrolls on the internet, searching for a distraction. As the night progresses on, she starts to believe every lie she’s been told about her 20s. Sophia says she’s left in a “20 something drought” and can hear the voices telling her all the things she should and shouldn’t be. She says “I’ve been losing by a landslide now,” and is scared of feeling like she’s missing out on her life. In this illusion she describes as a “reckless game,” she feels like “[she’s] lying down in [her] fate” and feels perpetually stuck in this game. She dives more into this insecurity of missing out, saying she’s missing on friends and “occasions to [her] detriment.” This is a pattern in her life, but she still is “asking how it happens everytime” After repeating the pre-chorus and chorus again, she describes the feeling of trailing back home, “when all of a sudden/I lose all control,” but yet, she finds comfort in sadness.
The production on “Losing by a Landslide” is pure bliss. With a folksy mandolin in the introduction and delicate, airy vocals from Sophia, it’s a calming yet exciting track. Despite the lyrics taking on a sadder tone, but because of the production, I imagine myself listening to this song while going on a late night beach walk in the summer. Sophia does something interesting with the double tracking of her voice. Double tracking is a technique created by recording two or more vocal lines to match each performance as close as possible to give the vocals depth or richness. Sophia, on the other hand, doesn’t completely replicate her original vocal line perfectly, which adds this interesting characteristic to the vocals that wouldn’t have been there. The verses stay pretty folk-pop, while the introduction of some drums in the choruses give the track a more pop edge. As a whole, the track is reminiscent of 70s folk and soft rock tracks from the greats like Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan. One thing I really like about the track is that the production sounds live. In the age of electronic instruments, live instrumentation is so refreshing to hear in mainstream music. Overall, “Losing by a Landslide” is a carefully crafted folk-pop track with 70s-inspired flairs that make a truly innovative song.
Sophia is a singer-songwriter born in California but raised in New Amsterdam. However, she’s lived in London for over a decade. Constantly changing schools as a kid, she found herself feeling out of place and turned to music to be her constant in her life. She grew an affinity to artists like Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Stevie Nicks, and Neil Young, who have all had an influence on her sound, which is a fusion of modern music with a folk-pop flair. She released her first single, “House of Cards,” in 2021, and soon followed with her debut EP, “Groundwork.” Impressively, she released another EP in late 2022 called “Before I Go.” The EP itself has garnered several million streams, and has caught the attention of BBC Introducing, Spotify’s “New Pop UK” and “Fresh Finds UK and IE.” Amazingly, Sophia played alongside Billy Joel at his 2023 gig at Hyde Park London on July 7th, 2023. In addition, she’s done shows at Sound City Liverpool 2023 and toured with Bailen on their 2023 UK tour. It’s clear that Sophia Alexa has already made waves in the music industry, and she will continue to impress audiences with her vulnerability, relatively, and her passion for her craft.
Written By Lauren DiGiovanni
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