Review: Sophia Darcell - 'Soul Eclectic'

Listening to Sophia Darcell's sophomore album, Soul Eclectic, is like spending a warm Sunday afternoon at the beach. The 12 songs it contains are breezy like an coastal wind; but also warm, like a seaside bonfire. Darcell's brand of smooth Jazz-infused, soulful R&B is also airy and pleasant, even some of the topics, such as child abuse (on the song "His Sweet Face") and forcing a lover's hand regarding what they want to do in a relationship ("Make Up Your Mind") are not.

One of the more impressive things about Sophia Darcell's Soul Eclectic, is the maturity it contains. Darcell looks and sounds like a fairly young woman, but her lyrics and voice suggest a maturity beyond her years. And example of this is the song "Make Up Your Mind," which is about giving a lover an ultimatum regarding a relationship:

"I can't wait for you to make up your mind; either you love me or you don't, boy you're runnin' out of time, I don't need no bull, just tell me the truth, 'cause I can't keep lovin' you if you don't want me to." On the song, she very much sounds like a sophisticated woman who ain't putting up with any mess.

Other than "Make Up Your Mind," among the album's strongest material is the front three songs: the tart "Charades," the sensual "7 Seas" and the catchy "They Love Like That," which are all rock-solid musically, vocally and production-wise. The upbeat "Someday Someone" and the album's final track, the Miami/Latin-flavored "Senor Alvarez" are also winners.

However, there's a few songs on the album that don't quite hit the mark; for instance, the vocals on the child abuse story "His Sweet Face" don't do justice to the subject matter. And there's a couple of other tracks that are pretty bland for one reason or another, be it flat vocals, flat song arrangement, or otherwise.

But if you're the type who enjoys mellow R&B, smooth jazz and/or placid World music, Soul Eclectic contains more hits than misses, and is definitely worth a listen.