London’s SOMOH dives into her coming-of-age debut EP ‘A Plan to Get Home,’ a beautifully tender and unapologetically turbulent fever dream that brings inner reckonings to life through a blend of seductive bedroom pop and searing indie rock.
Stream: “Anything” – SOMOH
“I hate when it gets quiet, gives me more time to think,” SOMOH sings at the top of her debut EP, proceeding to spend the next fifteen minutes making lots (and lots) of noise. The English singer/songwriter’s introduction is as intimate as it is intense: A visceral upheaval of the self borne out in a blend of seductive bedroom pop and searing indie rock. A beautifully tender and unapologetically turbulent fever dream, A Plan to Get Home is a cathartic coming-of-age record of inner reckoning, personal growth, and acceptance. Pouring herself out five times over, SOMOH evokes the storm that brews within us all as she balances (or tries to balance) that fine line between youth and young adulthood.
I hate when it gets quiet
Gives me more time to think
You told me what it’d take to love you
But you know that I’d do anything (know that I’d do)
Into your arms
I wanna fall into your arms
You’re the mistake I’ve never made
And while I am scared to fall into your arms
You feel the same
So we go without saying anything…
– “Anything,” SOMOH
Released March 30, 2023 via Far Caspian’s label Tiny Library Records (its very first release), A Plan To Get Home aches in all the right ways. It’s a stunning best foot forward for 20-year-old Londoner Sophia Mohan, who debuted with the song “I’ve Been Saying This” back in 2021 and has been steadily making a name for herself ever since, carving out a niche in the alternative singer/songwriter space where she can soundtrack life’s moments of turmoil, fracture, and discord.
That first single took off and has since racked up over 850,000 streams on Spotify alone, giving Mohan a breakout beginning and helping her lay the foundations for what would eventually become her first extended player.
“I’m really proud of this body of work, it’s been a long time coming,” SOMOH tells Atwood Magazine. “A Plan To Get Home feels like it captured a moment in time. The main focus of this EP is about the transitional stages of life from childhood to your early 20s where part of you doesn’t feel ready to face all the changes. I wrote it as I was transitioning into adulthood and facing a lot of big changes in my life. Using my songwriting to navigate those feelings helped me so much. I think these songs convey a lot of those situations you have to deal with as you realise the world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows (e.g., falling in love, coming to realisations about the people around you, how you treat yourself). I hope that people listening can find a part of their own story in my songs; it’s always nice to feel like you’re not alone in how you’re feeling.”
“Honestly I didn’t have much of a vision beforehand,” she adds. “I just harrowed in on the writing process to see what would happen. Once I pieced these songs together as the final 5, it felt like the vision came to life and they could relate to each other lyrically and sonically. The main thing I wanted to achieve in this record was to be upfront, honest and fun in a way that represents not just my writing but my personality as well. I hope that even if my style develops, the listeners can still pick those elements from my music, as that’s something I really value in my artistry.”
The EP is named after its final track “A Plan To Get Home,” a slow-burn eruption full of heated emotion and energy. “That song was inspired by a drunken night out gone wrong, where all I have wanted was to get back to the safety and comfort of my bedroom,” SOMOH says. “It’s the place where I wrote all these songs and where I’ll always feel most comfortable to express myself.”
SOMOH describes her EP as “delicate, emotional, and punchy,” and its five songs certainly deliver on all fronts, with lead single and opener “Anything” hitting hard from the start with cutting lyrics, churning, grungy guitars, and a breathtaking vocal performance.
It’s a highlight for SOMOH as well, but her personal favorite is “I Know You Care,” the EP’s achingly evocative second track. “This song is about how people’s intentions don’t always reflect well in how they act towards you,” she explains. “I tend to just walk away from situations that hurt me, without holding the person accountable because I’m not the best at confrontation. At least I can get my anger out in writing songs!”
You broke my heart that day
Words pushed against my brain
Started a little tired
Started a little tired inside
My chest open wide
Breathe in and out a sigh
Started a little tired
Started a little tired inside
I know you care
But you don’t show it well
As a lyricist, SOMOH cites a line in the EP’s fragile, gently acoustic penultimate track “Reflections” as one of her favorites on the record: “I’m no good at this and I never will be. I know it might seem selfish but it’s ingrained within me. I wish I could help myself like I help you.”
It’s a poignant and bittersweet moment for the narrator – a vulnerable admission of imperfection, confessing her inability to practice what she preaches. Of course, who among us can lift ourselves up the same way we uplift others? We are often too hard on ourselves, and it’s this all-too relatable experience – one full of fragility – that comes to life on this song.
Whether she’s lost in a moment of existential dread or dwelling in the passionate depths of a brooding, broken heart, SOMOH’s debut EP fires on all cylinders.
A Plan to Get Home is as much a raw reckoning as it is a radiant and resounding introduction to an artist we can’t wait to follow forevermore.
“I hope listeners feel like they get to know a part of me in this EP,” SOMOH shares. “It was challenging to open up in such a vulnerable way, but I hope they can appreciate my candidness and spin their own meanings to each song. I hope that next time I can ease off that feeling of needing it to be ‘perfect’ and enjoy the process even more.”
Experience the full record via our below stream, and peek inside SOMOH’s A Plan to Get Home EP with Atwood Magazine as Sophia Mohan goes track-by-track through the music and lyrics of her debut EP!
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:: stream/purchase SOMOH here ::
Stream: ‘A Plan to Get Home’ – SOMOH
:: Inside A Plan to Get Home ::
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Anything
‘Anything’ is pretty much a soppy love song. It’s about coming to terms with how vulnerable love can be once you realise you’d do just about anything for a person. It also was so nice to finally write a love song that centred around queer love and I hope to keep writing music that other queer people can relate to.
I Know You Care
This song is about how people’s intentions don’t always reflect well in how they act towards you. I tend to just walk away from situations that hurt me, without holding the person accountable because I’m not the best at confrontation. At least I can get my anger out in writing songs!
My Body Is A Friend
I wrote this song while going through a rough patch with how I was viewing and treating myself. More than anything, this song is a reminder that your body does so much to carry you through each day. And for that, it deserves to be treated with the kindness and respect you’d show to a friend.
A Plan to Get Home
This song came to me after a really shitty night out. It’s all about the realisations you come to once you’re drunk and just wanting to get back to your safe place. In my case, that’s my bedroom at home!
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:: stream/purchase SOMOH here ::
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