Soccer Mommy - Sometimes, Forever
Indie Rock – Released June 24, 2022 – 11 songs, 42 mins
ROZ
Soccer Mommy, or Sophie Allison, showed promise at a young age. Born in Zurich, Switzerland but raised in Nashville, Tennessee (one of the major music capitals within the US music scene), Sophie began to play guitar at age 6, started recording songs as her current alias as early as 18 and dropped out for a full-time music career at 20 years of age. An artist that I’ve only recently heard about, I was more than thrilled to find out that this week's TSR review would be for her newest album Sometimes, Forever.
This album is an audiophile's delight with its perfect blend of indie rock, vaporwave and dream pop elements. The reverb-heavy dream pop essence is smeared across the entire track listing, with unique granular techniques (Unholy Affliction), horror style-vocal processing techniques and layering (Darkness Forever), and just a straight up surf rock jam (Following Eyes); there’s a solid balance of musical creativity and pop-style familiarity throughout. Tracks such as Don’t Ask Me and Shotgun shoot a 12-gauge blast of adrenaline into the record with their danceable, faster paced tempos but for the most part, the majority of Sometimes, Forever is an acoustic-driven, melancholy trip through the trials and tribulations of a young lady and her struggles with love, her relationships, the world around her and within her own self. While enticing for some, this could understandably become fatiguing for others.
Sometimes, Forever’s track credits are short and sweet (something I personally swoon over and will always bring up on my reviews), with Sophie writing all of the songs throughout and Daniel Loopatin being the sole producer. Loopatin is no slouch, with production credits on albums for artists such as the Weeknd and FKA Twigs, while also having composed film scores for movies such as Good Time and Uncut Gems in collaboration with the Safdie Brothers (absolutely fantastic movies that I’d recommend to any reader). The sonic qualities crafted on this album are further amplified by Soccer Mommy’s calming cadence and overall beautiful singing voice which adds that extra layer of dreaminess - almost as if Sophie is serenading you to sleep herself. Songs such as newdemo and Fire In The Driveway highlight this to the fullest extent, but from top to bottom Ms. Allison is an absolute treat in the recording booth.
Ahh, these soothing serenades are just too damn sweet - and on my birthday, no less! Indie Rock has found a new sweetheart and her name is Soccer Mommy. Sometimes, Forever is only this reviewer's second experience with the artist, so if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be off digging through the remainder of her catalog.
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
Favourite Song: newdemo
LUNDI
“Play me something I’ve never heard before” challenged TSR cofounder Roz on our Coachella vacation as we made our post festival trip to LA packing lots of sand and very limited serotonin. My album of choice? Colour Theory by Soccer Mommy. An album seemingly on my Spotify for years that just never got any airtime. Given the mood in the rental car though it seemed like the perfect time and place for some sad indie music. The results? A resounding TSR acceptance of an unknown yet talented artist also known as Sophie Regina Allison. So much so that the hype began building from that moment for her recently released third album Sometimes, Forever.
One of the most noticeable things about Sometimes, Forever is that Soccer Mommy isn’t really the solo driven singer songwriter the internet would have you believe. Blogs and articles are littered with mentions of Sophie, but it’s a struggle to find any of her bandmates names across the internet. In fact the only people who seem to recognize SM as a complete outfit is the band themselves, as they utilize soccermommyband.com for their website. But the reality is Soccer Mommy is much more Japanese Breakfast than Phoebe Bridgers or Lucy Dacus. We’ll get to the excellent song writing shortly but this album is cohesive and complete due to the compliments of a full backing band and their musical contributions. They are damn good at what they do and really elevate this album experience.
For the record, the four piece backing band is made up of Jules Powell on guitar, keyboardist Rodrigo Avendano, Nick Widener on bass and Rollum Haas on drums and the foursome deserve every bit of recognition for Sometimes, Forever. From the heavily distorted guitars on Darkness Forever to the offbeat snare to symbol drum progression on Unholy Affliction to the piano and synth layering on newdemo, the album offers up many different musical compositions for the keen ear to enjoy throughout. Its simplistic approach is well thought through and the attention to detail does not go unnoticed.
Allison however is still the star of the show and certainly carries the emotional weight of Soccer Mommy. Her song writing is exquisite as she touches on the highs and lows of love and relationships as well as the paranoia, grief, and the trivial nature of life itself. She pens lyrics with such grace and heavy emotion that empathy is the resulting feeling in any listener paying close attention. It’s a perfectly toed line of making you think long and hard while completely being able to understand the situation. The album signals that Sophie is well on her way to being one of the most well rounded singer songwriters in music today and Soccer Mommy are firmly on the short list of bands to be excited about.
On the downside of things the albums biggest flaw is it’s overall tempo. Sometimes, Forever is subdued for most of its 42 minutes as the rhythm matches the subject matter and it unfortunately tends to wear you down ever so slightly. Shotgun and Don’t Ask Me offer some relief throughout but the four closing tracks feel just a little too long and too similar. Cutting a song or adding another upbeat track in this grouping would have done wonders for the final product. Still it’s a mostly minor misstep in the total package and it’s nit-picking for the sake of it. The overall album feeling as the beautiful Still fades away is that Soccer Mommy are an uber-talented band on the rise.
Sometimes, Forever comprises excellent lyricism elevated by a technically crisp, yet subdued sound. Soccer Mommy is a bullet in a shotgun waiting to sound.
Overall Rating: 8.2/10
Favourite Song: Unholy Affliction
REID
Who is Soccer Mommy? Well, it’s summertime and I’m 34 years old. I know plenty of soccer mommies. I see countless social media photo uploads of toddlers running around pretending to care about the ball. This includes my niece, Rachel (the cutest, no debate). The Soccer Mommy TSR is reviewing this week is a foursome rock band led by Sophie Regina Allison, American singer songwriter who grew up in Nashville. The name originates from her Bandcamp origins. It’s her third studio album but once again, a first for me. This was an interesting listen. I can’t put my finger on many albums I’ve come away with similar feelings. Let’s get into it.
The optimist in me will begin with the positives. Sophie and the band deliver a genre comprised primarily of soft rock with nice synth work throughout. It makes for an intriguing listen especially songs like the ambitious Unholy Affliction, newdemo and Darkness Forever, adding an experimental layer to the mix. Coupled with that is clever songwriting on relationships and handling grief.
None of that passion translates with the vocal delivery. Sometimes, Forever has the exact same tone, volume and overall feeling for every song. No highs, no lows. No ooouus, no ahhhs or whoas. Just a low energy, even keel vibe. Song 7, Don’t Ask Me opens with some nice paced guitar strumming only to slow back to a crawl once the vocals kick in. Leaves you wanting more. Unfortunately, the monotony gets worse on repeated listens.
Sometimes, Forever took an adventurous instrumental and lyrical journey but weren’t matched in quality on vocals. Sophie sings ‘Barely a person, mechanically workin’ and the album can feel that way.
Overall Rating: 6.5/10
Favourite Song: Shotgun