Technology Won't Save Us [Digipak]

Having been a fan from the very first album and of Robin Proper- Sheppard's former band The God Machine from when I first heard them, I can pretty much say RPS's projects have always been a soundtrack to whatever was going on in my life at the time. And every time he releases an album and you think 'Robin can't top this one', he just goes and reinvents himself and the Sophia sound in a way that will always build on its predecessors. It's only too bad he seems to have to go through all kinds of negative experiences to reach that point. And he's growing tired of it. On the former album, some songs hinted to this (eg. Another Trauma) and on this album, 'Big City Rot' is a firm statement of the same. But it once again RPS's loss is our gain, because Technology Won't Save Us is another true masterpiece like only Sophia can deliver. Where on the former album RPS considered its version of 'Holidays Are Nice' to be a mistake to put on the album - and many agree - there are no weak points on TWSU. That's right : none. What you get is an album that's vintage Sophia, but is a lot more than that. The Track 'P1/P2 (Cherry Trees and Debt Collectors)' even hints to his past in The God Machine : haunting recurring melody and big choruses with noisy guitars. The same actually applies to the intro. As carefully arranged as past TGM gems 'Pictures of a Bleeding Boy' and, by way of the orchestration, 'The Hunter'. Recent live shows prove that RPS is not shying away from his noisy past anymore, which only strengthen some Sophia songs which were great in their original form, but now shine even more because he let his electric demons out again. Nevertheless, the acoustic side is still very much present on TWSU and that's anything but bad. Most song writers would give their right arm for the sincerity evoked in 'Big City Rot', of which the intensity reminds me of Nirvana's 'Something In The Way'. Guaranteed to make you feel cold on the hottest summer day. And singles galore on this album : the already known 'Pace' shines because it drives on a both haunting and memorable hook; 'Where are you now?' is a ballad that drives on the honesty of the lyrical subject matter, as it clearly influences the song's melodies. RPS knows how to write songs that grab right into your Soul. 'Lost' is another song that further evidences this. It might seem a bit odd on this album, as it is by far the most positive song on the album, but given that this is a song about RPS's mother who died last year, and her attitude towards life as well as death, it makes perfect sense. It belongs on TWSU just as much as all the other songs. Another gem is 'Weightless', which at first might seem to flow along like a small stream, but a lot of tension is in the undercurrent that are the lyrics. There are three instrumental songs on this album. Aside from the opening title track, there is 'Twilight at the Hotel Moscow', which is perfect for a melancholic sunny Autumn afternoon on a terrace in the center of Slovenia's capital Ljubljana (in my case, of course; insert your the city of your choice). The last instrumental is also the last track : 'Theme for the May Queen No.3'. If any song seems out of place, it might be this one. But again, it makes perfect sense, as the whole of TWSU is about Robin Proper- Sheppard. And at the end of all these stories, some pent up frustration is being let out in the best way possible : loud guitars, up tempo drums and an abrupt ending. Just the way it should be.

Being a long time fan might make me biased, but on the other hand, it allows you to have a bit more insight in what makes RPS and thus Sophia tick, which in turn allows you to approach these songs from a whole other perspective. Someone once said that Robin writes songs about himself but allows enough room for others to recognize themselves in his songs. I know that's certainly true for me. But other than that, these are a damn fine bunch of songs to get you through the winter. I have listened to this album a lot since its release and cannot find anything wrong with it. Such albums are few and far between. Go out and buy it.

Anyone familiar with Sophia, the alternative rock collective formed by Robin Proper-Sheppard after the tragic demise of the much missed God Machine, will know that they are a very different proposion to his former outfit. In the land of Sophia the acoustic guitar is king, with the bare sound augmented by strings, brass and aching silence. On studio album number four the growl of feedback and some gritty electric guitar are allowed a slightly freer reign, especially on the closing instrumental which harks back to the short-lived May Queens project, but overall "Technology Won't Save Us" is another set of beautiful songs propelled by Proper-Sheppard's cracked vocal which contains a haunted timbre that means that he will never be lumped in with the raft of other acoustic songwriters that seem to pop up every week. This is an album - and band - that you really have to spend time with to pick up all the subtle nuances - the bubbles of trip-hop;the storytelling lyrics - but once it's got you it's hard to move away from. The music world needs more bands like Sophia, putting out albums every couple of years with no press and very little live work and knowing that their loyal, underground network of fans will ravenously lap up whatever they've got to offer. And long may that continue.

Robin Proper-Sheppard writes songs of heartbreak and longing, regret and loss like nobody else. And he has upped the ante of emotional intensity from the last album.

The jazz tinged instrumentals are melancholy and beautiful, but it is songs like 'Where Are You Now', 'Birds' and 'P.1/P.2 (Cherry Trees and Debt Collectors) which pull your soul out of your body. The fact that the musical sensibility put into recording the tracks is up there with Robert Smith and The Cocteau Twins at their most exquisite is icing on the cake. One of these albums you don't just own but internalise.