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Calgary
Sun
SOPHIE ZELMANI -- Sophie Zelmani (Columbia) In this age of angry female
artists like PJ Harvey and Alanis Morissette, Zelmani sounds like a throwback
to a less confrontational time. This quietly assured debut album presents
an artist who's as vulnerable as her music is delicate. The sweet-voiced
Swede sings of heartache and longing without a drop of sentimentality;
her uncluttered folk-rock sound (acoustic guitars only, please) and lack
of guile bring to mind the early-'70s work of Jackson Browne, Neil Young
and Joni Mitchell. Zelmani may not be as noisy as her female contemporaries,
but she deserves to be heard. Rating:
HHH*
Everyday
gazette
Come closer, come in, listen to me! Sophie Zelmani feels very urgent. She
writes songs with an American singer/songwriter - base instead of the
Swedish folk - singer tradition, despite that the distance isn’t
that great. "Oh no this cannot be / My father would never leave me",
is a typical Sophie Zelmani - line. While for example Anna Nederdahl fall
on that she feels pretentious and conventional Zelmani manages to keep
the grip of the listener with small means. The singer/songwriter tradition
relies on that the singer invites the listeners and makes them feel like
they are participating in the lyrics. Sophie Zelmani succeeds in this,
despite that English isn’t her mother tongue. So if you like Neil
Young or Maria McKee, buy Sophie Zelmani’s CD. You get the steel
guitar for free.
by Richard Sandenskog
Aftonbladet
One thing is for certain: if I had no idea of who Sophie Zelmani was I wouldn’t
guess that she’s from Skogås outside Stockholm. The feeling is classic,
traditional and very American. But still it has a unique feeling. Already
the first song "I’d be broken" is a small orgy in acoustic
guitars, pedal steel, crisp singing and Sophie’s beautiful voice.
A still knockout. But Sophie can toughen up when she wants to. In "There
must be a reason", a dispute between mother and daughter, she sounds
a lot tougher. And what a choir part descending from Crosby, Stills, Nash&Young.
Sophie’s CD breathes self-confidence in every detail; from the nice
photographs, through the stylistically pure production of Lars Halapi
to Sophie’s singing and marvellous song. What a debut. One o the
most memorable in 1995.
by Anders Hvidfelt
Urban
Desires
Sophie Zelmani I wondered how this little slip of a girl could hold a crowd in NYC.
She is maybe five feet with shoulder length brown hair and piercing green
eyes that are edged with dark eyeliner. Waifish definitely describes Sophie
Zelmani. When I replayed the tape of our interview I had a hard time hearing
her voice she spoke so quietly. She had never played a live gig before
she had a record contract. She sent in her tape to Columbia in Sweden
and they signed her, gave her a band, made a record (Self Titled Columbia
Records) booked her a gig and presto instant rock star. In the little
time she has been playing she has won two Swedish Grammys (Best Newcomer
and Best Female Pop Singer) and gold records in Sweden and Japan. This
was her first time in New York and she said she had heard lots of stories
about New York and was scared at first. Hey that's how I felt when I got
to New York City. I went to see her play at the Mercury Lounge and I have
to admit I was worried for her. She seemed small and nervous up there
and her command of English is only Okay. Once she started singing though
I couldn't take my eyes off her, she has a quiet intensity and a deep
connection to her music. Her band was excellent and both guitarists played
acoustics. Most of her songs are about love or lost love and when I asked
her if she was in love she replied, " I'm always in love." She
writes very simply and the arrangements by Lars Halapi pay tribute to
the likes of Van Morrison (one of her favourites) and Neil Young. Sophie
writes good repetitive hooks for her choruses and they hang around in
your head. Her lyrics are so honest that you can forgive the total lack
of guile, or rather admire the total lack of guile. Simply repeat these
words- It's Always You. Zelmani grew up a tomboy outside of Stockholm
playing soccer and other sports but told me she quit because, "My
legs were getting too big." She said she wrote songs pretty much
in a vacuum. She didn't listen to American music, didn't have records.
I asked her if she had heard of the record Nashville Skyline by Dylan
or the song from it, Lay Lady Lay and she said no. Obviously Lars Halapi
her producer/arranger had because the strains of the pedal steel were
very reminiscent. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I asked Sophie
if she ever writes in Swedish and she said she never has. She only writes
in English and it shows. When you listen to these songs you think she's
American and probably from the south. Listen to her on A Thousand Times
or “Stand By” which sounds a lot like a Neil Young song, the
harmonica and the quiet background vocals. There are other songs that
are good but I only have the three song E.P. Off the cassette I liked
I'd Be Broken and So Good but you'll have to buy the disc to hear those
because I can't digitize them for you off cassette. If you like Swedish
women singing folk rock you'll love Sophie Zelmani. Okay forget that,
you don't even have to like Swedish women but if you like simple earnest
songs sung from the heart you might want to check out Sophie.
by David Levine
M.U.S.I.C.
This Swedish import brings another talented singer songwriter to Sony's adult
pop stable. Zelmani's North American debut fuses a breezy, in your ear
vocal (not unlike Susannah Hoffs without the nasal inflection), onto a
rhythmic backdrop reminiscent of Harvest-era Neil Young. Zelmani's songs
are capable and direct, the best pieces on the album being the obvious
single, "Always You", You & Him" and the bouncy "There
Must Be A Reason". The band comes up with their best impression of
Neil's Stray Gator line-up on "Until Dawn" and the opener, "I'd
Be Broken". An engaging experience for everyone from early Neil and
late Van Morrison fans to students of the Jewel fem-wave school.
by Tez
