Local Review: Veronica Franco — Sorrow’s Daughter, Vol. 1

Veronica Franco
Sorrow’s Daughter, Vol. 1
Self-Released
Street: 01.29.2025
Veronica Franco = She Wants Revenge x The xx + St. Vincent

Getting to peel back Veronica Franco’s work is like getting transported to a dark, macabre, beautiful world. Listening to her debut release, 2025’s Sorrow’s Daughter, Vol. 1, it quickly becomes clear that Franco knows what she’s doing. The whole thing is smoky, mysterious and captivating. Once you get started, it’s almost difficult to step away. Opening with “Unknown (Grief),” a haunting, distorted violin and piano ballad, I honestly don’t have much more to say other than the track is genuinely amazing. It’s the type of music that inspires and emboldens — lightning from the fingertips. 

Vocally, Franco takes a lo-fi filter to St. Vincent–sounding vocals. Tonally, this feels like an accompaniment almost to a psychedelic Alan Moore comic. At its roots, songs like Lymbyc Systym’s “Narita” come to mind, but I’d compare her deadpan, spoken word style of vocals to She Wants Revenge. Regal, delayed harpsichords and guitar are a staple of Franco’s work, along with fuzzy and backbeat-centered drums — a darkness I would compare to early Lorde or The xx. Lana del Rey-style room reverb is a signature feature throughout the project that at a point would bring the walls down if you let the feedback ring. I seriously cannot overstate how great and captivating the instrumentals are. 

My personal favorites across the release include “Trauma Drama,” “Sad Comfort” and “Unknown (Grief).” When not sitting in this dark, reverberating soundscape, Franco occupies a sphere of strange trap and hip-hop influences with psychedelic tendencies — think early Doja Cat with her Purrr EP or Lola Wolf. Nearly genreless, Sorrow’s Daughter, Vol. 1 is a unique listen that takes bedroom production to the next level. “Vampire (Do Time)” takes the sultry sounds of musicians like Lana del Rey and Radiohead to new levels. “D.O.A” immediately reminded me of Kim Gordon‘s spoken word track “Bye Bye.” 

Somehow, despite all these influences and artists that I’d compare her to, Franco doesn’t sound like she’s trying to be someone else. She’s not trying to prove something to you; you’re just lucky enough to bear witness. If you want to listen to Veronica Franco yourself, Sorrow’s Daughter, Vol. 1 is available on streaming platforms along with her most recent release, the EP Rough Smoke Women. —Jake Fabbri

Read more reviews of local bands:
Local Review: UltraVatic — Revel
Local Review: Melissa Chilinski – Melissa Chilinski