SONICA: SONICA
Outside In Music

Having been thoroughly captivated by Thana Alexa's 2020 release ONA, I've been excitedly anticipating her next one, and now here it is in the form of a new group project and its self-titled debut. Instead of issuing a solo follow-up to ONA, Alexa's partnered with Nicole Zuraitis and Julia Adamy for the trio SONICA. It's presented as a group of equals, but Alexa nevertheless appears to be the guiding force, given that the material was engineered, produced, and mixed by her and recorded at her home studio in Queens. Her vocals are in plentiful supply but so too are those of Zuraitis and Adamy, the former also credited with keyboards and the latter bass. Alexa fleshes out the instrumental picture with percussion and additional keyboards, and the recording also includes contributions from drummers, all of them, funnily enough, the trio's spouses: Ross Pederson (Adamy's), Dan Pugach (Zuraitis's), and Antonio Sanchez (Alexa's). Having a drummer appear on three of the seven tracks adds contrast and variety to the set, not to mention rhythmic heft.

As a group and album, SONICA is very much a collaboration. Of the four originals, three are credited to the trio, with only “Come A Long Way” by Zuraitis alone. Three covers also appear, fine renditions of Bon Iver's “Michicant,” Stevie Wonder's “Love's In Need of Love Today,” and the Irish folk song “Danny Boy.” At about thirty-two minutes, the release is short by full-length standards but satisfying nonetheless. It was no slapdash affair either, as the three treat the songs thoughtfully and clothe them in imaginative garb. Electronics, vocal loops, percussion, bass, keyboards, and drums complement the trio's voices, heard separately and together. Jazz is part of the genre mix, but so too are pop, soul, and folk, and a range of moods is explored from one song to another.

Considering that “Doyenne” is the French term for a woman who's highly respected in a particular field, the alluring song's an apt choice with which to introduce an album created by powerful female collaborators. Consistent with that, the piece works into its arrangement voice samples of influential activists Sojourner Truth (from her 1851 speech “Ain't I A Woman”), Gloria Steinem, and Malala Yousafzai. The opener also offers a first delectable taste of the trio's vocal artistry in its intricate blend of harmonies and lead vocalizing, and the funk-soul pulse isn't bad either. Speaking of which, check out the crisp groove Pederson and Adamy give to “Where Ya Gonna Go.” In highlighting the challenges musicians and partners had to deal with when confined together during the pandemic lockdown, the soulful song adds a smattering of levity to the album. The lights dim for Iver's “Michicant,” with his hushed ballad calling forth lustrous harmonizing from the singers and an ethereal presentation. With a muscular Pugach on hand to power the track, Zuraitis's “Come a Long Way” sparkles thanks to strong vocalizing and a robust band arrangement.

Though “Change It” is a group composition, it wouldn't sound out of place on ONA when its message has to do with the need for action (on the climate crisis, specifically) and progressive thinking; that it's the hard-hitting Sanchez driving the anthemic tune also calls the sound and spirit of ONA to mind. Change of a slightly different kind is called for in Adamy's sultry arrangement of the Stevie classic “Love's In Need of Love Today,” which, feeling that its message was more relevant than ever, the bassist began working on after the 2016 US Presidential election. Despite the chaos that erupted after that pivotal moment, SONICA opts for positivity and delivers one of the album's most stirring vocal performances in service to that. If “Danny Boy” seems like an odd choice of closer, its inclusion makes more sense when it's disclosed that Adamy's grandfather often sang the song to her as a child. It makes sense, too, that Frederic Weatherly's haunting ballad should be performed in an arrangement featuring vocals and vocal effects alone.

October 2022