by Isobel Mohyeddin (@isobelmohyeddin)
On Sour Widows’ second LP, Crossing Over, there is a departure from the alt pop-infused sound of their debut, instead deriving their power from a place of sheer tenderness and meditation. Despite being recorded remotely due to the pandemic, the Bay Area trio has managed to create a harmonious and expansive atmosphere in just four songs. Soft, stirring and serene, Crossing Over seamlessly glides from track to track, showcasing the group’s slowcore sensibilities and ability to craft deeply immersive tracks out of simplicity and lightness. Simply put, Crossing Over is a small collection of infinitely expansive tracks.
The title track “Crossing Over” starts off slow and tender, as a pair of understated drums and sparse guitars provide a guiding line throughout the nearly eight minute long track. The soft glow of Susanna Thomson’s vocals are backlit by Maia Sinaiko’s supporting harmonies, illuminating the deep ache of longing in a long distance relationship. Themes of loneliness and isolation are explored throughout the song and the record as a whole— feelings most of us are now uncomfortably familiar with. Tension is slowly built and developed throughout the track, eventually bursting into a full cathartic release. Thomson and Sinaiko plead “I want you” over and over while the guitar line gets more dynamic and takes front and center, eventually leaving you to sit and stir in the fading light of the emotional release.
Sharing in an interview earlier this year, singer Maia Sinaiko explains that the third track, “Bathroom Stall,” is about one of their previous relationships with someone who tragically passed away after struggling with addiction, and “moments we shared, and how it feels to walk around carrying that person and those experiences with me while the world stays normal.” The track starts off innocuous and subtle, building up in waves, A simple guitar/bass combo and soft, sweeping drums serve as a contrast to the crashes of a chorus that creeps up and fades out every now and then, like the push and pull between high and low tide. The serenity of the scene is eventually shattered as the track reaches its climax, and Sinaiko's tragic and visceral lyrics ring out: “Do you remember it like I do?/Your lips turned blue/I had my fingers in your mouth/And I couldn’t get them out.” Songs that are this vivid, intimate, and genuinely moving don’t come around very often — “Bathroom Stall” is one of them.