SOZI – DREAM
SOZI is LA-born and raised, and her latest EP, DREAM, is a glittering reflection of that upbringing. Written and produced by SOZI, this end-of-summer blitz is a celebration of all things glitz and glamor. Here’s a little more about DREAM from SOZI herself.
“The ‘DREAM’ EP is all about the illusions we chase, the fantasies we fall into, and the moments of clarity that wake us up. It’s the sound of summer seen through a hazy lens: warm, glittery, emotional, and a little surreal.”
SOZI smartly opens the album with “Superstar” – an archetypal SOZI jam that combines retro disco throwbacks (think Bee-Gees-type staccato strings that sigh and burst) with a modern-day pop sensibility. SOZI’s voice is powerful, but not overwhelming, acting as a lilting presence that floats perfectly overtop the electropop instrumentals… And while the phrase will be forever associated with Molly Shannon as Mary Katherine Gallagher, while SOZI sings “super-super-super-superstar,” you get the sense she’s literally stepping into that role herself – “manifest[ing] everything in [her] life” while she “cross[es] her heart and hope[s] [she] never die[s].” She follows it up with “Out of the Blue,” a perfect pairing with “Superstar,” trading vintage disco thrills for a pulsing, energizing house rhythm.
I’m certainly not a “Good Girl” (in almost any sense of that phrase) but there’s something about SOZI’s tongue-in-cheek message for rule followers (like myself) that really got me going. “West Coast darling / no I don’t go party / no I don’t get naughty / I’m a good girl,” SOZI exclaims – and while I’m almost assuredly never going to live in/around Hollywood or the Grammys, SOZI identifies that sometimes living on the straight and narrow can still make you the odd-person-out. For that, I might have to give “Good Girl” my nod for album favorite. Lastly, while we hesitate to call it the “slow burn” of the album, EP closer “Lost In You” finds SOZI at her most intimate, pairing hazy electronic elements with organic hand snaps, a fitting end to this shimmering stunner of an EP.
DREAM is out now (September 19th, 2025). SOZI is helpful and has a catch-all link so you can find all the different ways to enjoy her music – see them all here.
Categorised in: Album Reviews
This post was written by Nick Sessanna