Soccer Mommy - Evergreen

Somehow, it's been eight years since Soccer Mommy's debut album, and we're now on album four. Out of the void that grows from grief, Soccer Mommy's latest album, 'Evergreen', Sophie Allison (aka Soccer Mommy) travels back to her native Nashville, and the stripped-back sound that saw her become an indie-rock sensation in 2016.

'Evergreen' is a sonic journey through the open countryside of Tennessee, analysing devastating loss and nostalgia with poise and precision, a skill that illuminates Sophie's strength as a musician and as a person. The more natural instrumental choices on this record, compared to 2020's 'color theory' and 2022's 'Sometimes, Forever', grounds the album and defines it as the most mature and rounded LP of Soccer Mommy's discography. Sweeping strings and whistling flute lines connect the vulnerability of longing in 'M', an upbeat summer road trip in 'Some Sunny Day', and the record's pinnacle tearjerker track 'Changes'.

The record feels like the culmination of all Sophie's work so far, combining the honest lyricism she's always placed front and centre with the crunchier shoegaze of her last two albums. 'Driver' has enough distorted guitar lines and youthful storytelling to bring light and levity to the record, whilst an ode to Stardew Valley ('Abigail') proves there's still plenty of joy and laughter in Sophie's soul.

Closing track 'Evergreen' perfectly ties up loose ends, seeing out the most heartfelt, honest, and human record of Soccer Mommy's career. Even though it stems from the worst of times, it might well be her best album yet.