About this Artist

• Biography

Editorial Reviews

With her fourth, independently released album, Wilderness, Sophie B. Hawkins continues in the vein of the ethereal adult contemporary pop she's been known for since her 1992 debut, Tongues and Tails. Relationships are at the crux of these songs, and Hawkins isn't afraid to mix and match disparate musical elements to shade in the details of her stories, whether she's paying tribute to an older woman in "Supersexywoman," with its airy vocal phrasing and bluesy guitar, or packing swirling keyboards and vocal arrangements reminiscent of mid-career Madonna into the father-figure homage "Soul Lover." Given that Hawkins was once a star student of African percussionist Babatunde Olatunji -- and that the disc was produced in collaboration with the Berman brothers (Amber, Baha Men) -- it's not surprising that rhythm figures as a subtle yet powerful component to songs such as "Adrian," a snappy tropical number featuring exotic percussion and punchy horn arrangements. When she's not tossing off brainy, dance-flavored fare, this native New Yorker indulges her jones for torch singing with "You Make Me High," a piano-anchored tune that wouldn't sound out of place at a late-night jazz café, and a bluesy rendition of "Feelin' Good," an Anthony Newley–penned song popularized by Nina Simone. Delightfully unorthodox yet keenly melodic, Wilderness finds Hawkins once again making her own distinctive mark on the musical landscape. Dave Gil de Rubio, Barnes & Noble

Customer Reviews

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• Ratings: 2Reviews: 2