SOFIA ISELLA, Reading Festival 2025 REVIEW: The moment that SOFIA ISELLA takes to the Festival Republic Stage, coated in dirt from head to toe and staring out into the endless abyss, there’s a shift in the air. Something in the atmosphere stirs, a feeling that you realise has been lingering in the background; always present, biding its time to reveal itself. It feels like a chill coursing up your spine, freezing the blood in your veins, a stark contrast to the unrelenting heat that was filtering through this tent just minutes before. It’s quite the entrance to this hotly anticipated appearance, and she hasn’t even started to sing yet. Because when she does, it is unlike anything else. Darting between breathy whispers, calloused yelps and poetic exorcisms, Sofia captivates and discomforts in equally unrelenting measures. ‘Hot Gum’ ebbs and flows between beauty and battery, with space for a screeching violin interlude to add to the unease, whilst ‘The Doll People’ is as nightmarish a...