Writing about Sofia Gobbi just a few months ago, we asked a crucial and slightly prophetic question, “Is she about to blow up?”… It turns out, yes. The music industry has been rallying around the project with the eagerness of a dog finding a steak in its bowl. With the likes of BBC Radio 1, CLASH, and Earmilk throwing their weight behind Gobbi’s endeavour, she is now facing a pivotal moment for her career, a sort of litmus test, so to speak, uncovering an album that’s been long in the making.
‘Bigger Man’ is exactly what we would expect from Sofia’s bold and fearless pop artistry. Packed with ten reflections on modern dating and gender dynamics, the record collects past singles and newest offerings into an electrifying and gripping aural tale. ‘Your Mum’ takes the cake as the album’s lead single. It is, in fact, a perfect summary of the kind of sonic grit and songwriting fierceness that have been propping up the project for the past few years, with rock-leaning guitars embracing anthemic, mainstream hooks and relentless energy. Plus, there’s a playful Easter egg in it, with echoes of The Dandy Warhols likely to instil an acute flair of nostalgia in every thirty-something out there.
It’s impressive how the energy throughout ‘Bigger Man’ never quite subsides, except for the album’s closer, ‘With Gold’, an acoustic, stripped-back effort that allows us to appreciate Gobbi’s dynamic, nuanced vocal tone fully. That’s evidence she can embrace vulnerability when required. But in a world like ours, can you blame her for keeping her guard up?
Delving deeper into the album’s lyricism, Sofia explains: “Dating today is messy. Roles are shifting, expectations are blurring, and a lot of the time it feels like women are the ones carrying it all – making the first move, planning the dates, picking up the check, and holding the emotional weight. At one point, I thought: fine, I’ll be the bigger man.”
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