Soko releases albums so rarely that whenever a new one appears, it's like catching up with an old friend in an intense, sprawling conversation. Five years on from My Dreams Dictate My Reality, Feel Feelings caps off an especially momentous half-decade in her life. She became a mother, was nominated for her second César Award, and engaged in an intense workshop at the Hoffman Institute, where any distractions from therapy, from drugs to exercise, are prohibited. The clarity she gained from the experience is reflected on Feel Feelings, which flows with the sudden, intuitive understanding of a breakthrough. Soko's emotions -- loss, joy, and above all, self-awareness -- spill into each other over music that's just as uninhibited. Letting go of My Dreams Dictate My Reality's verses and choruses was a smart choice: moods and melodies go where they need to, and Soko is such a riveting presence that the lack of obvious structure only adds to her sincerity. In many ways, she's never been as emotionally and musically open as she is on Feel Feelings. Continuing the lessons she learned at the Hoffman Institute, Soko remained celibate for the 18 months it took to make the album. It's not surprising, then, that this is some of her most sensual music, from the breathy flirtation of "Looking for Love" to the caressing seduction of "Let Me Adore You" to the gorgeously erotic "Oh, to Be a Rainbow!," a soulful celebration of queer sexuality in all its multi-hued glory. The throatiness of Soko's voice on this song takes on empathetic layers as she moves on from the traumas of the past elsewhere on the album. She tenderly addresses domestic abuse on "Quiet Storm," and sounds just as genuine when she toughens up on "Don't Tell Me to Smile." The need to share herself more wisely emerges on "Replaceable Heads," where she pairs spoken-word confessions with painful realizations set to harmonies so sweet they almost take away the sting. Soko keeps just enough of the fuller musicality of My Dreams… to give flesh and blood to Feel Feelings' big heart. In keeping with the album's theme, she revisits the quintessentially French sounds of her youth. On songs such as "Blasphémie," the rounded bass line and tumbling melody evoke Serge Gainsbourg's Histoire de Melody Nelson (not coincidentally, this is Soko's first song en Français), while "Time Waits for No One"'s synth-heavy cosmic journey echoes Air's 10,000 Hz Legend. Elsewhere, she adapts the styles of the talented friends who helped her make Feel Feelings to her own needs. It's no wonder that "Hurt Me with Your Ego"'s woozy tangle of guitars rivals DIIV's mingling of bliss and pain, considering that band's Andrew Bailey and Colin Caufield played on the album. For all its delicate sounds, Feel Feelings is a richly satisfying album. Soko demands the same commitment from her listeners that she put into making these songs, but as she combines happiness and sadness into something beautiful, the honesty in her music is mesmerizing. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi

1		Are You a Magician?
2		Being Sad Is Not a Crime
3		Blasphémie
4		Looking For Love
5		Oh, To Be a Rainbow!
6		Quiet Storm
7		Don't Tell Me to Smile
8		Replaceable Heads
9		Let Me Adore You
10		Now What?
11		Time Waits For No One
12		Hurt Me With Your Ego