Music
Press
Having been a writer and performer at the young age of 15 has only given Charo Sofia a chance to refine and revisualize her style and sound. Montreal is the outcome of this refining fire and what a stripped down soulful new vision it is. Equipped with an acoustic guitar, Sofia belts out her songs with the emotion of a practiced veteran. - CDReviews.com
Boston singer-songwriter Charo Sofia's Montreal is an acoustic album that is all about the voice. It isn't to say her guitar playing isn't fair, but Sofia's deep tone is the attention grabber from the beginning of the first track, "Perfect." It's especially appreciated when considering the fact that she's only 20 years old.
With only six songs, Montreal comes up a little short, and those who find Sofia's folk acoustic music as good as the usual suspects like Catie Curtis and Chris Pureka will probably like the idea but feel shortchanged by the short disc. If you're not interested in songs lacking drums, bass or lyrical content besides love-gone-wrong, look elsewhere. - AfterEllen.com
Charo Sofia’s Montreal is a pairing of contemporary folk, ‘90s alternative rock, and indie sentiment. The six song EP features only Sofia and her guitar encompassing a wide range of emotion and an insistent display of stripped-down singer/songwriter know-how.
The first half of Montreal showcases Sofia’s deep vocals, which are throaty and edgy but still smooth. On the CD’s first track, “Perfect,” Sofia smoothly delivers her slick rhyme schemes and tricky syllable placement over a typical alt-rock acoustic groove. The next two songs stay true to this fashion, with Sofia weaving her firm and frank vocals over tried and true acoustic rock grooves embellishing subtle minor progressions and angsty palm-muted strumming swells. On the second half of the CD, Sofia parts with the initial simplicity of the CD by adding more guitar and more vocals, weaving increasingly intricate arrangements for each and creating for the first time a kind of working relationship between the two. On the CD’s title track, a finely-honed dual guitar pattern keeps the song rolling along before Sofia’s rich, haunting harmonies enter into the chorus, begging the listener with an instrumentally-driven urgency, “Don’t fall to pieces tonight.”
The final track, “Broken Stage Mic,” is a rather disjointed track that jumps back and forth between a low-pitched, aggressive thumping of sentiment and the fairly nondescript strumming that typifies the first half of the album. Between aggressive assumptions and another meditation on falling apart, Sofia slips in a few quick guitar solos, more fills than anything else, that serve as subtle reminders of craft. Were there more such moments, Montreal could easily move from being a cross section of folk and alt-rock to a more personal reinterpretation of those more expressive mediums. (Self-released) - Northeast Performer
Charo Sofia’s deep, sultry voice could easily garner her quick comparisons to Tracy Chapman, but past the surface, there is also the vocal lilt of Jeff Buckley, the phrasing of Joan Armatrading, and the emotional turmoil of Elliot Smith. It isn’t every day that such a straight-ahead, simple recording could have as much emotional impact as this EP. With simply her voice and guitar, Sofia’s knack for melody and ear for a catchy phrase can somehow propel a simple arrangement to something uplifting and meaningful. There are few Boston songwriters that can do that, and Charo Sofia has just jumped to the top of that very small list. (Joel Simches) - The Noise
Discography
Montreal EP (2006)
Photos
Bio
Most musicians can brag of an early childhood draw to music. But few were using their buckets to bang out rhythms to the Cure’s “Just Like Heaven.” Enter Charo Sofia, a 21-year-old singer/songwriter whose lyrical depth and vocal stylings belie her youth. Inspired by everyone from her chanteuse grandmother to the melodies of Jeff Buckley and lyrics of Elliott Smith, Charo Sofia is at once sentimental and sultry, earning her comparisons to Tracy Chapman, with a bit more edge. A performer since age 15, Charo Sofia recently debuted her first album, Montreal, a six-track acoustic release that meanders from raw, rock-influenced numbers like “Perfect” to melancholic ballads like “Walking Away,” the entire thing suffused with a hint of soul. What you won’t find are any French-Canadian influences. “I’ve never been to Montreal!” laughs the singer, in reference to her title choice.
The Boston-based artist has performed at legendary music venues like Cambridge’s Middle East, and she earned the necessary notch in any serious folk musician’s belt with her appearance at Club Passim. Charo Sofia has also performed at the NEMO Music Festival, and at major universities around the state. She is currently at work on her second album.
92.5 The River's Homegrown Artist 2/26/08
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