Single Review: Sonder

It’s always handy for a reviewer to have a bit of background information about an artist to get a creative context of where they have come from and where they might be heading.

Metanoia is a bit of a mystery in this respect. It appears to be another pseudonym for Wellington-based musician Shae McKenzie, who has previously recorded under the guise of Limerence. And that’s about it for information.

Likewise there are no real clues as to the specific meaning of Metanoia’s debut single Sonder.

I do, however, like this particular reference to Sonder, as coined by John Koenig: “The realization that each random passer-by is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness.”

Certainly, Sonder, the track, is both a musically vivid and absorbingly beguiling ambient soundscape.

It unfolds on a gorgeous guitar melody, layered with electronic pulses and a haunting etheric vocal, suggesting a sense of something otherworldly, even heavenly. As the rhythm intensifies, another layering of hushed vocals sweeps across the senses with a lovely string section and swelling bass lines.

The guitar work is simple yet stunningly effective. A clap of thunder rolls in yet there is a sense of calm despite a storm that threatens but never eventuates.

Despite knowing so little about Metanoia, Sonder feeds the hunger and thirst for more.