Vera Sola – ‘Peacemaker’ album review: a cathartic foray into darkness
THE SKINNY: Vera Sola’s second album, Peacemaker, is a bold follow-up to her 2018 debut record Shades, welcoming listeners to revel in a cathartic exploration of darkness. Created over the course of four years, during which Sola faced many personal challenges, the record is an amalgamation of feelings, including anger, which the musician learnt to process.
“There is a lot of death on this record. A lot of dead people represented. And dead places too. Sudden, excruciating loss. So there’s grappling with that—a sense of coming to terms with impermanence,” she explains. Yet, the album isn’t entirely bleak. Sola’s rich instrumental palettes often inspire a relinquishing of hopelessness. She is shaped by everything, appreciating how pain and suffering can morph into something beautiful.
This is an album of power, reflected by the strength of Sola’s voice. Every song showcases Sola’s vocals concisely and clearly – every word is sung without flinching – she isn’t scared to sing certain words, even if they’re unpleasant or dark.
Lyrically, Sola shines with clever lines, narrative storytelling and poignant statements, as demonstrated on the album’s last track, ‘Instrument of War’. She opens the track by demanding, “Lord make me an instrument of war/ Lord pack me my pistol bring me my sword/ Load me up with landmines/ Bury me in concubines/ Take me downtown where the bullets are.” It is cinematic, dramatic and wholly addictive. Sola has crafted an album that deserves to be huge, proving herself to be an essential voice in the current musical landscape.
For fans of: Old westerns, movies where cannibalism is used as a metaphor for unending love, those with an unquenched desire to run through creepy abandoned fields in a prairie dress as night falls.
A concluding comment from Tom’s mother: “A very unusual diction for a very unusual album. It might feel like a trip down memory lane, had I been born 50 years earlier and in Colorado.”
Peacemaker track-by-track:
Release Date: 2 February | Producer: Vera Sola; Kenneth Pattengale | Label: City Slang
‘Bad Idea’: Sola opens the album with a meditation on the Californian wildfires that destroyed countless homes several years ago, using dramatic strings to back her rich vocals, singing, “Oh poor California/ Our lady of the isle/ As the leaves they do catch fire/ We watch on the roof as the flames/Lick higher.” [3.5/5]
‘This Line’: Punchy and defiant in tone, a steady bassline anchors the track down while percussion flitters in the background, building up to a release of pressure. Sola’s voice is almost claustrophobically close, reflecting a sense of urgency. [3.5/5]
‘I’m Lying’: Sola takes a more relaxed approach on ‘I’m Lying’, as though a pot has been turned down from full heat and left to simmer. There is a sense of brooding mystery on this track, with the singer centring a quick repetition of “I love you,” followed by “I’m lying.” [4/5]
‘Get Wise’: Drawing unmistakable parallels to ‘Jockey Full of Bourbon’ by Tom Waits, this song is somewhat sexy, seducing the listener with enticing guitars, Sola’s smooth voice, and a western sensibility. [4/5]
‘Desire Path’: More gentle is ‘Desire Path’, which showcases the true beauty of Sola’s vocal abilities. She is backed by melancholically romantic guitars and strings that invite us to slow dance. Yet, her lyrics are bleakly humorous: “Piss on my back and tell me it’s rain/ Then expect me to stay.” [4.5/5]
‘Waiting’: The influence of 1960s and ‘70s folk artists seeps through on ‘Waiting’, although Sola weaves in more classically American electric guitar notes, which flow through the song like fireflies buzzing in the night sky. [4/5]
‘Bird House’: Perhaps the darkest track on the album, with Sola singing about a “motherless child” and a woman who “began to speak her longing to the rope.” The singer’s storytelling works perfectly over a sombre instrumental palette embellished with unnerving strings. [4/5]
‘Hands’: This track continues with the sense of mystery and darkness that colours the record. Sumptuous guitars swell to a sensual climax near the end, and Sola’s voice is clear and commanding – a slight sense of amusement in her voice at certain points. [4/5]
‘Is That You?’: A haunting exploration of grief, ‘Is That You?’ reminds us of the potency of memory and the power certain objects can hold. Heartbreaking but also hopeful, Sola fully immerses herself in the weight of grief, making for one of the album’s most lyrically perfect tracks. [4/5]
‘Blood Bond’: The penultimate track pounds with guitars that evoke images of the American West, violence and riding fast on the back of a motorcycle. ‘Blood Bond’ bursts with a fast-paced soundscape that allows Sola to stretch her voice into more powerful territory. [4/5]
‘Instrument of War’: Sola brings powerful feminine strength to ‘Instrument of War’, which sees her sing over a relatively muted layer of instrumentation. It is a strikingly poignant end to the record, relying on confrontational lyricism, although it is not the album’s strongest track, musically. [3.5/5]
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