Sonia Leigh

Angel On My Shoulder

If Bob Dylan hooked up with Jodie Foster (I just can't get over the resemblance) and had a love child who also happened to be the twin sister of Ryan Adams, said love child would most definitely be Atlanta-based, future chick-rock GIANT, Sonia Leigh.  She is all at once soulful, sensitive, wry, poetic, raunchy, gritty, raucous, sassy, vulnerable, powerful, and familiar while being altogether unique.  Her sound is fresh yet harkens back to the hard-driving Southern rock of my childhood.  Her diminutive physical being houses a voice and an attitude that is simply ginormous. 

I've seen her perform twice now -- the second performance having just as much sheen of shiny and new as the first.  Her newest release, 'Angel On My Shoulder', recorded live at Eddie's Attic in Atlanta, contains live versions familiar tracks from her previous studio recording, 'Run or Surrender', that I've been grooving on for a while mixed with new material o'plenty. 

Her at times oddly sweet lyrics present a beautiful juxtaposition against her drawling -- almost growling -- voice.  One of her older tunes, 'Poem from the Ocean Floor', embodies vulnerable sensuality and something of the soul of Johnny Cash.  She sings of the fire of passion in a way that seems open, innocent, and willing to give anything asked, while at the same time wild and rebellious.

'Old Blue Jeans' tells a poignant story of the fleeting love of a free-spirited couch-surfer named Rainbow.  It speaks of traveling and moving on, of trains and Greyhound buses, longing, nostalgia, and raw honesty.  The melody winds these lyrics over  foot-stomping beats and slippery fiddle playing.  The feeling bears more than just a passing resemblance to Janis Joplin's 'Bobby McGee'.

Drinking songs seem to be a bit of a theme running through this album.  The Hank Williams Jr.-esq honky tonk anthem, 'Bar', proudly announces that she's 'gonna be drinkin' till I get my fill, so if you're lookin', darlin', I'll be at the bar.'  Another along the drinking theme is 'Roaming', a new track co-written by Atlanta songster Zac Brown.  This is easily my favorite of her newer material.  A reggae vibes lends a jaunty strut to this diddy about walking about town when too drunk to drive.  I liked this song so much I googled it and found a teasing little video on YouTube by producer Simon Illa who helped her record this track in studio, featuring an Atlanta rapper by the name of Kyle Lucas.  Illa is holding on to the studio cut until he decides how to best use it.  I can't wait till he figures it out cause when he does, I'm all over that puppy!

Sonia Leigh and her band sure can turn out a record and can also put on one hell of an amazing show.  I'm looking forward to watching to see how her career develops in the future.  It's going to be hard to bide my time till she comes back around to Columbus but until then, I've got the live album to tide me over.  I plan on wearing it out.