Earlier this year I was fortunate enough to see Sol3 Mio at Spark Arena, and I came away as suitably impressed as one would expect, not only from the main act, but also by the support who impressed everyone with her wonderful vocals and delicate touch on the piano. Anderson Rocio was not someone I had come across prior to that night, although one of her songs, Paradise, had previously featured on an episode of Lucifer, but I came away incredibly impressed and said how much I would be looking forward to hearing more of her material. At the time I felt she reminded me of a mix of Kate Bush, Tori Amos and Lorde), and these four songs show I was not that far away from the truth.
The four songs may only be a total of 13 minutes in length, but they are simply magical, with the arrangement and production ensuring that her vocals are always front and centre. The accompaniment manages to be both sparse and just right, so that when it needs to provide more support, then it is there, but also when there is no need it just drifts into the background. One could argue that a piano is often, but not always, the main instrument, but in reality, the most important instrument being used here is that of silence and space. There is room for her vocals to breathe, for the songs to take on the life they need, and for the listener to get inside and become immersed in the experience as opposed to just sitting back and listening. I was pleased to see that one of the songs I thought was a highlight of her live set, Ghosts, is one of the four but such is the strength of all the songs included here that it no longer stands out.
There is a restrained passion and honesty within the material which makes the listener coming back for more, and the delicacy and vocals are just sublime. Blue has one of the quietest verses one is likely to come across, yet it is a commanding performance, with the listener hanging on every word and living the emotion. The question now must be, when do we get more? An album like this would be sensational.
9/10 Kev Rowland
