Label: Loma Vista
Released: 24th June 2022
Sophie Allison, aka Soccer Mommy, delivers a new era of vulnerability on ‘Sometimes, Forever’. She’s now thrice penned her experience of growth for fans, audibly manifesting tumultuous periods of transition. Each time stepping it up, her sonic and thematic palette has deepened and broadened for an ever-growing well of emotion. Enriched by Daniel Lopatin’s luxurious production, an invigorating touch helps her transcend any previous sense of grounding.
The listening experience is an absorbing whirlwind of multi-faceted feeling; while its foundations lay in guitar-based sounds, the record almost immediately spirals upwards, reaching for and obtaining something greater, as the hugely atmospheric opening of ‘With U’ makes clear with welcomingly inflated ambition.
‘Unholy Affliction’ takes things in a contrasting direction with unsettling lyrical cues and purposefully disjointed textures – Soccer Mommy settles us into some discomfort before the intoxication of ‘Shotgun’ hits, and ‘newdemo’ subsequently details a somehow appealing sonic doom. The weight of such moments is shaken off for a hopeful wind down, which eventually resolves to some sense of peace; Allison utters “my heart stands still” in relief during the album closer.
The title itself alludes to the cyclic nature of life, and that applies to art too: ‘Sometimes, Forever’ is a versatile exploration of opposing states, so don’t go into this delightfully diverse journey expecting an easy ride. Every silver lining has a cloud, but as Sophie puts it, “I’ll just have to take both”.
