For immediate releaseMontreal, February 08, 2023

Sophia Bel now presents Lighter Fluid, the focus track from Anxious Avoidant Deluxe, an extended edition of her debut album, originally released last May on Bonsound. Anxious Avoidant Deluxe will be available digitally on Friday, February 10th and a launch show will take place the same night at Quai des Brumes as part of the Taverne Tour festival. Tickets are on sale here.

Lighter Fluid is an anthemic song about an impending loss of emotional control, much like a time bomb about to explode. Recorded in Montreal with musicians Christian Sean (guitar), Samuel Beaulé (bass) and Laurent Saint-Pierre (drums), the song is a direct answer to people who, over the years, have made Sophia feel that her sensitive and vulnerable nature was too much to handle. Co-produced by Sophia Bel and her loyal collaborator Tim Buron, this new song combines a light touch of hyperpop with a classic pop-punk structure.

Watch and share the art track for Lighter Fluid on YouTube.
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This new song follows the release of the emo-pop earworm No Sleep, the trip hop ballad Shades of Blue and the intoxicating acoustic pop track Serotonin. Other unreleased songs appearing on the album's deluxe edition include the dreamy and candid Aftertaste (a collaboration with American artist Makk Mikkael), as well as Angles Morts, a song on which Sophia sings along Ariane Moffatt, with whom she also co-produced the track at Studio la Classe. Ariane was one of the people I was most excited to work with, says Sophia. She is one of my favorite local artists and I feel like she is the queen of the Quebec trip hop scene from the early 2000s. This is not the first time the two artists have collaborated together. Sophia Bel notably covered Ariane's song Point de mire on the album Aquanaute 2022.

Anxious Avoidant Deluxe arrives a few months after the release of its original version, which recently made it onto several year-end lists, including those of RANGE Magazine, Exclaim! and CJLO. When I was writing my album Anxious Avoidant, there were a few songs that stood out to me and I felt like they were part of a different narrative, says Sophia Bel. It is in fact this reflection that led her to release these six songs on a deluxe version. I felt an attachment to these recordings because they are mainly collaborations with talented people that I am lucky to have in my surroundings.

About Sophia Bel
Under Sophia Bel’s shy demeanor and delicate voice lies a warm, colorful and playful world waiting to be discovered. Born in Michigan to a Québécois dad and a Dutch-American mom, Sophia has always found her path through music, whether it be singing '90s classics when she was younger or writing eclectic, catchy songs. Bullied at school because of her looks, Sophia found comfort in dreaming of a future life with a career in music. After taking the time to figure out what kind of music she wanted to create, Bel returned to her roots, heavily influenced by the refreshing pop of the early 2000s, emo-rock and pop-punk of the time on the album Anxious Avoidant. She’s now ready to release the deluxe version, thus broadening her rich musical panorama.