Sophie Allison, AKA Soccer Mommy, got her start in 2015, releasing lo-fi home recordings on Bandcamp. In 2017 she signed with the Indie label Fat Possum and released her first record Clean. Since then, she has released four studio albums and toured with Paramore, Wilco, Vampire Weekend, Mitski and Liz Phair, to name a few. Her latest offering is the acoustically driven Evergreen.
Evergreen finds Soccer Mommy in familiar territory. The songs are crafted around acoustic guitar with pepperings of lush electronics. The lyrics focus on themes of loss and melancholy. Take, for example, the track “Changes.” Soccer Mommy is writing about returning to a childhood home, but in finding that everything has changed, she can’t face it.
“My mother’s hair is colored by her age / the house is painted over / it’ll never feel the same / and every time I come here, I’m further away.”
The changes that happen with the passing of time are real, and sometimes hard to accept. Listening to Soccer Mommy sing about them on this track is a reminder of that truth.
“Driver” offers a change of pace, and is one of the more rock-oriented tracks on the record. It floats between two different sonic feelings from the verses to the chorus. The verses are straight rock, with distorted guitars and a driving beat. The chorus goes somewhere else with its mellotron-supplied hook and uncertain lyrics.
“I’ll be the driver if you choose / no promises to stay on route / he’d never leave me now / even if he wanted to there’s no way out.”
“Driver” is an album highlight, and because of the lack of electric guitar-driven songs on the record, really sticks out.
Another highlight is “Abigail,” which is a dreamy pop tune. If you watch the music video, the visuals are all taken from the videogame Stardew Valley, which is a cute life simulator and adds to the happy vibe of the track. It’s also musically reminiscent of The Cure’s song “Just Like Heaven,” with arpeggiated guitars and a synth lead during the choruses that really call out to that song. I’m not sure if Soccer Mommy is literally singing about the game Stardew Valley, but I’m kind of hoping she is.
“Abigail, it isn’t fair/ I’m drowning in your purple hair/ And all the pretty clothes you wear/ And all that’s underneath.”
The lead character in Stardew Valley has purple hair, and making fun clothes is a major part of the game experience. Maybe I’m completely wrong in this assumption and the song is about strong feelings for the aforementioned Abigail as a real-life person. But I’m going to put my hopes on Soccer Mommy writing a whole song about her love for Stardew Valley. If for no other reason than because it adds a level of levity to the otherwise depressing subject matter of Evergreen.
Evergreen will really hit a chord for fans of Phoebe Bridgers and Elliot Smith. The album opener “Lost” (which has been in heavy rotation on Studio One) is a clear example of this. Between the desolate lyrics, acoustic strumming and even the timbre of Soccer Mommy’s voice, the song comes off very Bridgers/Smith-esque. If those two musicians are on your frequently listened to list give “Lost” a try.
Evergreen is an overall strong offering from Soccer Mommy and kept me listening to the end. It isn’t groundbreaking, but it was a safe choice and has a few really strong tracks. My must-listen-to recommendations are: “Driver,” “Abigail,” “Salt in Wound” and “Lost.”
