The backstory to Sophie B. Hawkins’ self-recorded new album is yet another example of the bizarre state of the music industry. The New York-bred singer/songwriter and percussionist made a sizeable splash with her 1992 debut, Tongues and Tails and its hit single, “Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover,” and her ’94 follow-up, Whaler, likewise yielded a hit with “As I Lay Me Down.” Yet even after two successive gold albums and Top Ten singles, Hawkins’ mix of urban, rhythmic pop and jazz-tinged balladry apparently didn’t translate into enough of a distinct identity to satisfy her label, Columbia. Resisting their attempts to steer her in what they perceived to be a more commercial direction rather than letting her follow her own instincts, she negotiated her way out of the contract, eventually releasing the album they didn’t want, Timbre, on her own label in 1999. Though it didn’t match its predecessors’ success in the marketplace, Hawkins made an interesting transition to indie artist, and on her latest she expands her already-broad horizons as a writer and performer.
Co-produced by Germany’s dance-floor-savvy Berman Brothers (Amber, the Baha Men), Wilderness’ best tracks—“Beautiful Girl,” “Adrian” and “Walking On Thin Ice”—match Hawkins’ impressionistic lyrics and shape-shifting melodies against multi-layered cross rhythms and colorful splashes of horns and guitars. The street-smart “Meet Me on a Rooftop” and the sunshine-bright “Surfer Girl” find the now-transplanted Californian neatly working both coasts, vibe-wise, while more inward-looking compositions such as “Soul Lover” and “Angel of Darkness” showcase her familiar smoldering side. The clutch of the more open-ended jazz-leaning songs toward the end (including the Nina Simone-recorded Anthony Newley tune “Feelin’ Good”) aren’t as focused as the rest of the album, but Wilderness makes a strong case for Sophie B. Hawkins’ evolving talents—major label or no.