The Album

Songs Between Two Wars is a seven track album by one of my favorite wrockers, Sonorus. The album is sweetly dedicated to who I assume is a former piano teacher, Agatha Persaud.  This EP was released on July 28 of 2019, only a few days before Harry Potter’s birthday. Let’s get into it!

The Tracks

Doorstep Blues is an incredibly sad song (but with a funky beat) from Petunia’s point of view. She struggles with the thought of having to raise her dead sister’s son – the only remembrance of her Petunia has. I love how strangely well the heartbreaking lyrics mesh with the upbeat tempo.

Sonorus takes John Williams’ famous theme and puts it into Leaving Hogwarts. The dark and synthetic take on the theme captures the heavy moments that remind us of the toll the wizarding wars took on the magical world.

Butterbeer (The Boy Who Lived) features saxophone by Missy B. This song tells all about how the wizarding world reacted to the news of Voldemort’s defeat by baby Harry. Again, the instrumentals give us a funky feel while some of the lyrics lay heavy in our hearts. This is some absolutely brilliant storytelling.

Next up is one of my favorite songs on the album, Arthur Weasley. I love the fun melody and, of course, the lyrics. We get a look into Arthur’s life and the choices he has had to made to both be working for the Ministry as well as fighting the good fight for what’s right.

Wizard moves from a funk vibe to a rock feel. The song starts with some rockin’ instrumentals before it kicks into the first verse. The song is about Harry finding out for the first time that he is a wizard, and all of the emotions that entails. My favorite lyric is:

You’ve been looking at the world under gaslight
Things are different out in the sun

This next track legitimately brought tears to my eyes. Have you ever thought, in depth, how hard it must have been for Nicholas Flamel and his wife to make the choice to stop living after over six hundred years? The Next Great Adventure does just that. You might want to grab a tissue, because the slow instrumentals combined with the soft and meaningful vocals just might make you cry too.

There’s A Storm is the final song on this EP. This track made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. It’s got a gritty sound, both in the instrumentals and in the vocals. It gives you a sense of urgency and a hint of panic. The instrumentals slowly get louder throughout the song until it suddenly fizzles out at the end.

In Summary

I absolutely loved this album. The differences of topics, melodies, and range of vocal talent amazed and impressed me. My favorite part by far was the meaningful and deep lyrics, giving us a deep dive into the heads of wizards we may not have thought to consider too deeply before. I hope you enjoy these songs as much as I did, and be sure to check out more of Sonorus’ music as well!