"Sophie Auster - Milk for Ulcers": Raw Poetry for Numb Times

In the midst of an era made of infinite scrolls, algorithms, and filtered emotions, Sophie Auster does the opposite: she strips everything bare.

Milk for Ulcers isn’t just an album — it’s an open wound. One that doesn’t ask for permission, doesn’t aim to be pleasant, but insists on being real. Born out of pain and rebirth.

Within the span of a few months, Sophie experienced the full spectrum of existence: the deaths of her brother, her niece, and her father, and the discovery of a new life growing inside her.

She gave birth to her son Miles on January 1st, 2024 — and said goodbye to her father, Paul Auster, just four months later.

In between, she recorded the most vulnerable and fierce album of her career.

“This is the most intimate and raw album I’ve ever made,” she says. And it shows: Milk for Ulcers is a visceral journey through rage, grief, love, and motherhood.An album that circles around an ancient, unanswered question: how do you heal wounds that feel incurable?

Even the title is a metaphor — a grandmother’s remedy that might soothe, or maybe make things worse. Like comforting words that don’t quite land, or silences that last too long.

“It’s like putting butter on a burn,” she explains. A gesture of care that still stings.

The closing track, Blue Team, is a sonic letter to her father. Sophie wrote it in triple time so he could hear it before he passed. He did.

But behind the tragedy, there isn’t only pain. There’s also a stubborn will to make sense of it. To share it. To say: I feel it too.

Auster does this with a clear voice and lyrics that don’t aim for special effects, but for real ones.

And in a world where attention spans last thirty seconds, she crafts songs that stay with you.

Sophie Auster - A Voice That Comes From Words

Born among words. Daughter of writers Paul Auster and Siri Hustvedt, she grew up in a home filled with artists, stories, and music. She started singing at eight and released her first album at sixteen, earning critical acclaim and a distribution deal with France’s Naïve Records.

In 2019, she signed with BMG, released the album Next Time, and her song Mexico was featured on the soundtrack of The Jesus Rolls, directed by John Turturro.

Sophie is not just a singer-songwriter — she’s a magnetic performer. She’s sung for Chanel, Dior, Ferragamo, and received international recognition including the John Lennon Songwriting Award and Cosmopolitan Spain’s Singer of the Year.

Why Talk About It Now? 

Because Milk for Ulcers is more than a record. It’s an act of emotional resistance.

In a present that manufactures loneliness, Sophie Auster insists on seeking connection. Not through slogans. Not through poses. But with disarming sincerity.

And anyone who can do that — today — deserves to be heard.

Listen to Milk for Ulcers on all platforms.

Discover more talents on czmosmag.com — under the Next-Up section!