The greatest album of all time exists as the audacious title of Sophia Stel’s debut album, released on Oct. 16. Despite finding early career success with her first EP, Object Permanence, and becoming the first woman to be signed by A24 Music, the title seems like a bold statement for Stel to make. The cover, which features a childhood photo of Stel cradling a baby goat, almost winks at the claim’s grandiosity.
Beneath the cheeky title lies an album revealing the doubt and insecurity that pervades Stel’s life, especially since reckoning with newfound fame. The highs and lows of her introspection, which also resemble the highs and lows of drug intoxication, are personified in the order of songs in her album.
In the second track, “Molly In The Club,” dreamy synths accompany Stel’s pensive voice. Her signature monotone drawl sounds faraway and wistful, recalling a night of drug-induced confusion.
Stel sings, “Molly in the club, I feel amazing / Molly in the club, I feel so envious.” Though these contradictory feelings resemble the effects of molly, Stel’s disorientation continues even when not under the influence.
“Better Believe It,” opens with the lyric “I’m not sure it matters what I do / But I don’t like to say that.” Halfway through the song, her depressive crisis transforms into an upbeat track, as Stel comes to the realization that if nothing truly matters, she may as well love hard.
This glimpse of hope inspires the middle tracks of the album like “I Do” and “Wedding Song.” “I Do” composes as a faster dance track for Stel’s home in the club, where she sings about the possibility of saying “I do” to marriage. Her optimism in “Wedding Song” comes through in the lyric “I like my life I wanna live forever.” Stel’s voice is drenched in reverb, as if echoing and bouncing off a cathedral’s walls at a wedding.
The lead track of the album, “Power,” comes near the end of the album with a hypnotic midtempo electropop beat. Stel sings about her newfound power as an artist and its effect on her late night excursions. The song holds a dark pulse alongside her lyrics, mirroring her descent from the recording studio into the nightclub, where her true power lies.
As quick as the album lifts into a higher spirit, the comedown crashes and burns even faster. The album ends with “Burn,” where Stel returns to her hazy state.
“Molly, weed are my prescriptions,” Stel sings. “Press my dick onto a vinyl / need more life, I’m suicidal.”
The album’s title reflects Stel’s confidence in the high points of her life, but as the album suggests, that confidence can evaporate rapidly. Stel’s earnestness in her lyrics pairs perfectly with her insecurities, making the greatest album of all time characteristic for her feelings.
4 baby goats out of 5
