Sofie Royer reveals plans for fourth album, before/after

before/after is Royer's fourth album in six years, following her most recent release, Young Girl Forever, in 2024. On before/after, the main target of her satire and critique, honed through years of developing her songwriting, is herself, with “Sesquicentennial” arriving as the latest single — following "Cowboy Mouth" released in April.

“Sesquicentennial” was written “just at the cusp of something, where you’re not able to define what that something is yet,” as Royer explains. The idea came to her after a SXSW show in Texas, when she read the word — which means every 150 years — on a bumper sticker. “I remember my sunstroked self finding it both silly and thrilling,” she says, “and made me think about all that’s cyclical in our own lifetimes; what we’re fated to repeat.”

before/after was made with producers Matt Cohn (SZA, Charli XCX), Jorgen Odegard (Sabrina Carpenter, BLACKPINK), and Eli Hirsch (Suki Waterhouse). The album combines her pop songcraft with references to the likes of Fassbinder, David Lynch and Falco. Speaking about the concept behind the album, she comments, “Really, in the state of before/after, it's always you vs you.”

before/after artwork

before/after tracklist

“Leave on the light”
“Cowboy Mouth”
“Sesquicentennial”
“Cavalier”
“Actress”
“AUTO”
“C’est la d”
“Sold out the jazz club”
“Opium”
“Nights in white jackets”
“Best in Show”
“Keep on keeping on”