Soccer Mommy - Evergreen

Grief is a difficult feeling to reckon with. But on her fourth album, Sophie Allison – aka Soccer Mommy – does exactly that: from accepting time’s slow destruction (‘Changes’) to feeling stuck in the past (‘Thinking of You’), each track on ‘Evergreen’ is hauntingly beautiful. While Sophie has always been an acclaimed songwriter, here she harnesses the power of her talents and hits home with uncomfortably relatable lines like “I don’t want to be let down / By another perfect memory” (‘Evergreen’) and “And I can feel the memory tainted / By the way I’ve changed” (‘Dreaming of Falling’). By enlisting producer Ben H. Allen III (Animal Collective, Deerhunter, Belle and Sebastian), ‘Evergreen’ moves away from the shoegaze of 2020’s ‘Color Theory’ and the glitchy synths of ‘Sometimes, Forever’ (2022) and instead boasts breathtaking arrangements of acoustic guitar, flutes and strings that pair impeccably with her lyrics; the drum build-up in the chorus of ‘Driver’ gives the song a playful edge, while the flute and string outro to ‘M’ is one of the album’s best – and most chilling – moments. Elsewhere, ‘Abigail’ is a dreamy, kick-your-feet-in-the-air love song, which gets even better the moment you realise it’s about the purple-haired Abigail from Stardew Valley. Similarly, ‘Salt in Wound’ pairs mournful lyrics with rock-inflected riffs to make a deceptively upbeat earworm. Much like grief, ‘Evergreen’ has its highs and lows, but ultimately, it makes you feel less alone and like you’re going to be OK.