Soccer Mommy
Clean
Fat Possum
Mar 02, 2018
Web Exclusive
Nashville indie rocker Soccer Mommy’s story might sound familiar: Just as now-prominent artists such as (Sandy) Alex G, Car Seat Headrest, and Frankie Cosmos grew their intense Bandcamp followings into deals with leading indie labels, so too did she. Twenty-year-old Sophie Allison got her start posting assorted, homespun recordings on Bandcamp before she signed with Fat Possum, which late last year released her aptly titled compilation Collection to tease her official debut album, Clean.
Allison’s first proper Soccer Mommy LP makes great use of her new access to a full band and better recording equipment. Grungy highlights such as “Cool” and “Skin,” which are both excellent takes on Clean‘s recurring themes of envy and obsession, move daringly through subtle dynamic changes that wouldn’t be possible without Allison’s full band and enhanced production. On “Your Dog,” the relationship between her new resources and her broadened songwriting absolutely soars; this immaculately constructed, aggressive yet undistorted anthem is an early contender for indie rock song of the year. Allison finds a softer balance on “Flaw,” which bridges her newer rock styles and her quieter Bandcamp heyday.
Despite its vast highs, Clean does have one glaring flaw. Its last few tracks—“Scorpio Rising” through “Wildflowers”—are, in sequence, a comedown that blurs the album’s home stretch. This issue is minor, especially since even the album’s less immediate songs—“Still Clean,” “Blossom (Wasting All My Time)”—are remarkable. Clean‘s plentiful highlights suggest that Allison might one day deliver a true indie classic. (www.sopharela.bandcamp.com)
Author rating: 7/10
Average reader rating: 6/10
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August 29th 2018
5:50am
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October 26th 2018
7:29am
Clean has only subtle flourishes. Allison can be blunt like Liz Phair, or perceptive like early Taylor Swift, but she tells her stories of love and betrayal with a welcomed pop-punk brevity and Commercial Carpet Cleaning Seattle kick. The melodrama of youth is rendered in sometimes uncomfortable detail, the seemingly innocuous memories that send you spiraling, like a particular way of brushing up against a person. In Clean’s songs, lovers become wolves, crushes linger with world-ending gravity and disaffected stoner girls become godly.