Sophie Allison's third album as Soccer Mommy trades the scrappier edges of her earlier work for something more deliberate. Recorded with her touring band in Nashville, these ten songs rest on live takes that let the rhythm section breathe underneath her guitar lines. Producer Gabe Wax keeps things open rather than polished, so when the arrangements expand, strings on "yellow is the color of her eyes", layered vocals on "circle the drain", they feel considered rather than decorative.
The writing moves through depression, illness and grief without much decoration. Allison's lyrics name the problem plainly, and her voice stays level even when the subject matter tilts dark. The tempos are mostly mid-paced, the tones clean to slightly overdriven, the melodies strong enough to carry the weight. It sits somewhere between indie rock's quieter side and the more confessional strain of alternative pop that emerged in the late 2010s. Fans of Snail Mail or Julien Baker will recognise the territory.
Not every track lands with the same force. A couple of the slower pieces drift where they might have dug in harder. But the album holds together as a sequence, and the best moments, "royal screw up", "crawling in my skin", justify the reputation that preceded this release.
