Words by Hannah Eldon
Renowned for their melancholic indie rock discography, Sophie Allison, better known as Soccer Mommy released their debut album Clean in 2018 at only twenty years old. With New York Times naming it one of the best albums of that year, this formed strong foundations for following albums that maintained honest and reflective outputs. Soccer Mommy’s latest album, Evergreen, explores themes of grief and introspection, displaying a longing to reminisce as Allison processes complicated feelings of loss.
Performing in the stylish New Century Hall after a supporting set from Leeds-based artist Bored at My Grandmas House, Allison paired heartfelt rock ballads with their retrospective lyricism. The Nashville-based singer-songwriter began their set by emerging from an orange hue as they sang ‘Abigail’, a sincere and upbeat track taken from their latest album. Appearing as an innocent love song, this song is in fact written about a fictional character from the video game Stardew Valley.
Wasting no time on introductions, Allison seamlessly transitioned from one song into the next, exhibiting perfectly on-par vocals that could be easily mistaken for the recorded counterparts. With the addition of the talented band beside them, the musical chemistry was unmistakably obvious as drums led the way for a cohesive sound. As Allison styled a strikingly purple electric guitar, ‘Driver’ included the most noteworthy upbeat instrumental moments of the evening. As they repeatedly confessed, “I’ll be the driver if you choose, I would go anywhere with you”, their lyricism provided honest insights that fitted perfectly with the distinctive instrumentals.
From stellar guitar solos to sentimental moments, Soccer Mommy had a song for everyone. As the lights lowered and the spotlight shone, their song ‘Lost’ beautifully encapsulated the complicated feelings of regret that coincide with loss. Moving into each song swiftly, with modest audience engagement, the atmosphere overall was mostly mellow and casual, with a nonchalant audience passively nodding along for the majority of the performances.
Despite this, staying true to their name, Soccer Mommy declared that the band were prepped in their “soccer” knowledge for the Manchester crowd in front of them. As they proudly displayed their Manchester City football shirts, the crowd reacted with several hecklers shouting “United!”. Moving away from the football talk, and swiftly diving back into the show, Allison defeatedly confessed “thank you for teaching me about football”.
Altogether creating a tranquil and meditative evening, Soccer Mommy successfully conveyed their music as it was intended – heartfelt and retrospective with lyrics to leave you thinking. As they ended the set with the hit song ‘Your Dog’, the crowd became electric in energy. chanting the lyrics “I don’t want to be your fucking dog” in unison. Going out with a bang, Allison appeared for one more song in the form of ‘Don’t Ask Me’, a track which the essence of the closing credits of a coming-of-age movie. Soccer Mommy’s latest record is available from any decent music providers, and their ongoing tour is accompanied by the Evergreen (stripped) EP, which is due to feature acoustic versions of stand-out tracks.
