Truth of the Matter

Cult Survivor is the debut solo album from Sofie, the DJ/musician who got her start interning at the indie label Stones Throw Records and becoming a talent scout before forging her own recording career. "Truth Of The Matter" is a retro-styled contemplation of a changing relationship. Sofie, who sang a stripped-down version of the song for the Songfacts Podcast in 2021, explained that the meaning has changed over time. She said: "'Truth Of The Matter' was a song about a friendship / relationship, but as it's grown as time has passed since I wrote the song, I've found it uncanny as to how many instances it can pertain to. We can break it down... 'Truth of the matter is it didn't always used to be like this,' which is so applicable to so many life scenarios because nothing ever stays the same. Then it's also about how people's interactions with you will inevitably shift over time. Situations change, circumstances change, and as a result, interaction is also going to be very transitory, so that's really what that song is all about."

Rinngo Archeta, aka Mndsgn, released a cover of this in October 2020. He and Sofie are good friends who previously collaborated on "Abeja" for Sofie's 2016 compilation, Sofie's SOS Tape. He explained why he chose to cover the tune: "'Truth Of The Matter' is one of my favorite songs on the Cult Survivor. It sounds like a theme song for a classic TV show. The melodies and harmonies were stuck in my head after the first time I saw a video of Sofie playing the tune with a band back when it was just a demo. The song and its feeling is somewhat of a contrast from what I've been listening to, so it was a breath of fresh air to step outside of my comfort zone vocally. Shout-out to Sofie for writing a classic number and also for showing me the chords over Facetime!"

The music video, directed by Ross Harris, opens with Sofie hanging out with a group of dogs and follows her adventures with Gary Wilson, an experimental musician known for his 1977 album, You Think You Really Know Me. Harris explained the concept: "It's a lost love story between Gary Wilson and Sofie. I wanted it to look like Wim Wenders made a karaoke video. I knew Sofie is a huge Gary Wilson fan and I've known Gary since the late '90s or so. We picked Gary up from the train station in my Lamborghini and just made up everything on the spot. It was Peanut Butter Wolf's idea to shoot the opening at the doghouse and I really love that set up. The video is dedicated to Diego the chihuahua as he sadly passed a few months after we shot the video."