...it's really interesting. I bought this CD for the music, which is an amazing mix of Celtic and Middle-Eastern, but wasn't too sure about the spoken word part. I don't have a lot of experience with spoken word, and I wasn't sure I'd like it, but the songs on this album have been in my iTunes "shuffle" for a while now. I must say, the spoken word parts are really growing on me. And the music is extraordinary, in both its unusual sound and the technical excellence of its creators. I'll probably take it off shuffle and play it straight through from now on!
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The cover made me want to see and hear what's under "the veil," and what I found was Loreena McKennitt's edgy relatives. The Celtic and Middle Eastern influences make for an exotic and sometimes erotic mix.
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This album grabbed me by the lapels and shook me out of my malaise over the whole neo-Celtic rock-influenced thang.  The opening monologue on the title track 'Sophia Speaks' was so sexy I immediately made it the startup sound on my computer.  The second track carried on with the merciless pummeling of the listener with the intriguing and fresh combination of spoken-word poetry and wall-of-sound rock.  Next... do you like dissonance?  Damn I sure do, and vocalist McCarthy sears you with a screaming sonic crescendo at the end of 'My Heart is a Lion.'  By this time you might need to take a breath and the next track 'The Booger Man' gives you a chance to groove to a more conventional Celtic rock track with an ass-whomping backbeat and vocals by Ungar.  Speaking of boogers, what is that sticky thing holding the disc in the digipak?  Very distinctive packaging of this CD and spectacular layout.  Anyway, the following track 'Fever Vision' returns us firmly to the frenetic poetry/pounding rock sound.  The only weak spot I would point to on this collection would be the texture of the last two tracks, 'Star of India' and 'A Single Note'; a little too retro-sixties-hanging-out-with-Ravi-Shankar sounding for my tastes-- on the one hand, I want to say 'Don't you guys know, the Beatles already did this?' But on the other hand, we liked it when the Beatles did it, and we still like it... 
Overall: This album should be arrested for 'Refusing To Obey.'
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Sophia Speaks is a lovely first offering from The Veil. Made up of Bay Area music veterans, The Veil is reminiscent of 60's celtic rock, but with a distinctly Eastern flavor. They combine classic rock, Celtic traditional, and Arabic and Indian World music flavors very skillfully and interestingly. I particularly like 'My heart is a Lion' and 'The Beggar Man'. Insightful lyrics......'My Heart' is almost anthem-like, and I have listened to it over and over, singing along. I genuinely enjoy this CD and am delighted to have gotten a review copy! I will listen to it many more times for my own enjoyment. I've come to think of it as 'Steeleye Span on strong Morrocan hash!'
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