Sody has always managed to capture a raw vulnerability through her music that has emulated a confidence in the person and artist she has become. But as we all learn in one way or another, real growth takes time, and that’s something that the UK singer-songwriter has really understood and honed into her craft this year.
From releasing her EP ‘I’m Sorry, I’m Not Sorry’ and the following singles ‘Charlotte’ and ‘Bedroom Ceiling’, she’s taken even a deeper dive into her inner monologue, and created a body of work that is her most personal and emotionally direct to date. ‘real growth takes time’ is the unravelling of emotions that 2020 has brought to the surface, and each song on this six track collection is a beautiful exploration of that.
Opening with the dreamy anthem ‘butterfly’ she immediately brings you into a world of reflection with the title lyric “real growth takes time” resonating particularly hard in the chorus. Searching for the inner-strength to keep fighting she also questions; “How did you learn to trust that you’ll become what you are destined to? Cause I can’t seem to find a way to get out of my bed today. But you, yeah, you believe in me”, which also creates quite the impact. The pulsating synths and production that builds throughout this song provides an uplifting backdrop to a song that is very empowering and perfectly sums up so many of our years.
Keeping the production quite minimalistic and airy, the whole EP is really focused on the storytelling and ‘hold it together’ is a prime example of that. The emotional lyrics about not having to put on such a front to try impress or make others happy and instead put yourself first are contrasted with an ethereal and freeing production. As the song heads steers towards the outro, she reveals that this song is actually about her mother. “You don’t have to try to please the others. Take all of the time in the world to recover. You should know you’re more than just a mother, and I’m so proud to be your daughter” she confesses in the beautiful final moments of the song.
‘I’ll Be There’ then explores not being there physically for someone but always being there in spirit, while ‘time again’ reflects on a toxic relationship that has a devastating continuous cycle, and ‘i’ve got you’ cements the sentiment of always being there for someone. But a song that truly stands out on the EP is ‘scary part of me’. This track is all about the mistakes we make along the way, and not being proud of the person you’re becoming when you’re travelling down the wrong path. The oozing production is so cinematic and the lyrics are so vivid. “I’m a mess, try my best. You don’t know what to believe. It’s my fault, lost it all. That’s the scary part of me, that I don’t know me anymore” she emotively sings.
‘real growth takes time’ is a beautiful collection of raw emotion that highlights Sody’s own personal and artistic growth so authentically. This is her strongest and most captivating body of work yet, and you will be mesmerised upon the very first listen.