Album Review: Sophie Koh - Oh My Garden

1 July 2012 | 2:03 pm | Helen Lear

The addition of synths has added a more electronic sound to the album and is a distinct move away from her traditional acoustic guitar-driven sound.

Sophie Koh is one of those artists who seem to pop up all over the place, and now she's back with her third studio album, Oh My Garden. The alternative pop collection has been produced with Brad Wood (Liz Phair/The Smashing Pumpkins) over 18 months and four successive trips to Los Angeles, which led Koh to explore new musical terrain. The addition of synths has added a more electronic sound to the album and is a distinct move away from her traditional acoustic guitar-driven sound.

The album could easily be classed as easy listening, combining typically sweet pop tracks like title song Oh My Garden with some more synth-infused, upbeat numbers like You Are and Winter Sunglasses, which take a lead from Ladyhawke's early style.

First single off the album, Lo-Fi, is definitely one of the winners here, combining a fat bass with a catchy, summery melody, clapping hands and fun lyrics. Lip Syncing is another singalong triumph. Emotive love song I Understand gives Koh's lower vocal range a good workout and is, by the artist's own admission, her most personal song to date – her raspy voice sings: “I would love to love you harder/But listen baby, I don't think I can.”

A few tracks are a bit too sickly sweet with lyrics that don't really cut through, like Top To Bottom, and there's a noticeable lack of build on numbers like On And On, which have the potential to be great tacks but just don't go anywhere. But overall Oh My Garden a good, all-round pop piece.

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