Sans Soucis – Circumnavigating Georgia

For Sans Soucis, revisiting childhood memories in their music is not merely an indulgence in nostalgia. It’s a radical act of reclaiming joy and freedom in spite of all the systemic power structures that have tried to take it away. Recounting their coming of age as a queer, Black person in Italy, the London-based musician’s debut album is as vibrant as it is meticulous.

Best Class is a perfect opener; from the glimmering ripples of guitar that introduce it, the song bubbles and spritzes with an infectious optimism that bleeds through the whole album. This resilience shines through in the woozy jazz chords of If I Let a White Man Cut My Hair. Exploring identity and autonomy through the symbolism of hair, the song’s elastic vocal lines swoop up from a restless, itchy verse into a dizzying, vertiginous chorus.

Crunching lo-fi production gives the album texture and bite. Rough, syncopated drums pulse out an anxious heartbeat on What You Did to Me and soft, misty strings trace out the sparkling waltz of Giulia. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, Sexed & Sexual tightens things up with a taut groove and a driving club beat. But the guiding light through the LP is Sans Soucis’ voice. Layered harmonies and vocal samples are the organic tissue holding the songs together, lending a warmth and humanity that never fails to endear.

Listen to: If I Let a White Man Cut My Hair, Dancing on This, Sexed & Sexual