Soccer Mommy’s Music and Lyricism is ‘Evergreen’
The Nashville-based indie alt-rock band, fronted by Sophie Allison, is releasing their sixth studio album this Friday—a collection of visceral lyrics, emotion and tight instrumentation that teeters on the idea of time
I am a song repeater, guilty of replaying the same tunes over and over again if I connect with them or they make me feel comfortable. Since the release of Soccer Mommy’s singles Lost and M in August, I have played the songs on repeat daily. This isn’t to say I haven’t listened to any other music, but these two songs have had a hold on me. I can’t pinpoint why, but I can feel myself in these tunes. The loss she sings of is my loss.
On Friday, Oct. 25, Nashville-based ’90s alt-rock inspired band Soccer Mommy, fronted by Sophie Allison, is slated to release their sixth studio album, Evergreen, which will include those two songs I’ve been wearing out. Brought to life by one of the most gorgeous and intricate songwriters of this decade, Evergreen ventures through heartbreak, loss and time, but it’s blanketed in a hopefulness that reminds you it’s OK to keep going.
Evergreen comes on the heels of 2022’s Sometimes, Forever, which saw Soccer Mommy lean more heavily into experimental production and synth. This time around, in addition to crisp production, Allison recalls earlier self-made work but on a more cinematic scale.
The album, recorded in Atlanta at Maze Studios with producer Ben H. Allen III (Deerhunter, Animal Collective, Youth Lagoon, Bella and Sabastian), dances with acoustic guitars, lush string sections and flute.
Evergreen creates this snapshot of moments and feelings that portray the beauty and sadness in life but is layered with hope. With hooky verses and eclectic guitar chords, Soccer Mommy emulates a grunge-pop sound and intimate, almost confessional, lyricism reminiscent of the early 2010s.
Allison grapples with memory on Evergreen and how time changes everything—even how we might think of someone. The songs tend to ask questions that are later answered in some way by other songs.
On the album opener, Lost, Allison sings about her mother, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer over a decade ago. It is about how we lose pieces of people closest to us every day.
Lost in a way that don’t make sense / Lost in a way that never ends / If I had another chance / I’d ask her then
On M, she sings directly to shadows and ghosts, and while she understands that being devoted to someone who is gone isn’t necessarily sustainable, it’s all she’s got for right now. It’s an idea that I think most of can see in ourselves. In one way or another, we can still feel the people we’ve lost. We still see them, hear them, in everything around us. While heartbreaking to miss someone so deeply, it’s comforting knowing I’m not alone in feeling this way.
I feel you / Even though you’re gone / And I don’t mind talking to empty halls
Several Evergreen songs can be credited to loss and grief, but Allison has a lyrical and musical gift that keeps her from making them sound the same. It brings to mind the idea that these losses, these emotions, take on various forms in our lives. And even those feelings change with time.
Changes maps the road toward getting older and watching everything around you change—your family, your home, yourself. Allison ponders the reality of time, how it warps our perceptions but keeps us grounded in memories.
It’s messing with my head to think of how things change
I could spend forever reading, listening to and analyzing Allison’s lyrics, but it’s not lost on me that some music listeners might seek out Soccer Mommy simply because of their dynamic instrumentation.
Songs like Some Sunny Day offer a dreamy guitar intro as Allison’s voice floats around empty space like a cloud. She’s quiet, calm, and lets her melodies drape over listeners in a dream. Anchor hears a variation of fuzz pedals and effects, with echoed vocals from Allison, her words lingering a bit longer. The sound emulates a spooky, scary movie vibe, with dings and other sound effects layered in the background. It’s the most-produced song on the album, but it’s not overdone.
Soccer Mommy is known for pulling inspiration from ’80s goth music like The Cure and The Smiths, while leaning on Allison’s interests in fantasy pop culture—Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Underworld, Blade, Charmed—and gothic aesthetics like ghosts, darkness, magic, death.
But with the title track and album closer Evergreen brings to mind a new symbol of life and freshness. It’s a simple, light and airy song that leaves us thinking about the beauty of life amid the struggle.
Soccer Mommy kicks off a North American tour in January with a stop in Chicago on Feb. 6. Keep up with the band here.
Start with Soccer Mommy’s song M and you might pick up on the intimate lyricism.
Pay attention to the instrumentation toward the end of the song, in addition to the gorgeous lyricism. The song isolates an airy flute progression that makes the music float away, like someone you miss.
Kendall Polidori is The Rockhound, Luckbox’s resident rock critic. Follow her reviews on Instagram and X @rockhoundlb, TikTok @rockhoundkp
