Liverpool-based singer-songwriter Sara Wolff, originally from Bergen, Norway, writes intriguing, well-crafted lyrics delivered in her warm voice over etheric fuzzy synths. In When You Left The Room Wolff is watching her thoughts and emotions like glass balls in the sunshine. But it’s not another introspective bedroom pop record. Her songs are full of observations – colours, buzzing insects, flavours and textures that vividly affect the imagination.
Such an ordinary thing like a pair of socks become the focus for ironic observations about relationships in ‘Cotton Socks’. The sad-toned ‘Hands’ brings a bracing Nordic wind and Björk-ish vibe. These mesmerizing synths layers were created to just dive in to. If you need a soundtrack to a bad day spent in pyjamas, feeling like shit and trying to understand your state of mind, look no further than the catchy ‘Bad Thoughts Compilations, released as a single in February. Nobody asked for it, but everybody might need it.
With echoes of St. Vincent, Wolff weaves her melodies in a manner that is far from straightforward – changing the tempo, playing with pace. ‘You Like Talking About Yourself’ is fun tune I look forward to sharing with people who love to do exactly that at a crucial moment of our conversation. The repetitive lines of the closing ‘Get Away For A While’ bring echoes of Emiliana Torrini’s trip-hop experiments from The Love In The Time of Science, exploding with distorted guitar solos.
With each listen, When You Left The Room reveals more subtleties, tiny layers packed into an EP of just five songs. Sara Wolff easily grabs the listener’s attention with her distinctive way of telling stories we can all relate to.