This Friday, November 11th, 25-year-old Nashville indie rock singer/songwriter Sophie Allison – better known as Soccer Mommy — returns to Philadelphia to play Franklin Music Hall, her biggest headlining show in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection yet, as part of her Touring, Forever trek. The tour is in support of Sometimes, Forever, Soccer Mommy’s third LP, which dropped this June on Loma Vista. Pitchfork characterizes the album as, “Expand[ing] on the ’90s palette that has characterized previous Soccer Mommy releases. Bolstering the lingering imprints of Liz Phair, Sheryl Crow, and Sleater-Kinney is a healthy dose of Loveless worship: glide guitars and tendrils of haze,” while The New Yorker calls it, “Soccer Mommy’s gnarliest and most resplendent, fashioning poppy melodies, disarming lyrics, and twisted sounds into dismayed songs of young adulthood.” Although there are currently still tickets available, the last time Soccer Mommy was in town she sold-out Union Transfer, so I would recommend not waiting until the last minute… And if you need more convincing to come out to the show, here are 4 Reasons, in the form of Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, and Something Blue…
“Still Clean” (Something Old)
The deliciously mopey opener of Soccer Mommy’s debut LP (Clean) established the then-20-year-old as perhaps the most essential purveyor of lo-fi bedroom pop since Exile in Guyville and often provides the most delicately abrasive moments of the live set.
“newdemo” (Something New)
The fourth single off of Soccer Mommy’s “new” album even includes the word “new” in the title… Discussing this ineffably dreamy narrative of the Apocalypse, Sophie has said, “I didn’t want to make something super depressing without any sense of magic… We played around with the space to make the song feel vast, so ‘newdemo’ had a huge transformation in the studio. It’s one of my favorites off of the record.”
“Dagger” (Something Borrowed)
Although she has hasn’t been playing it recently, throughout Soccer Mommy’s touring behind color theory (her 2020 sophomore LP), Sophie treated fans to a devastating solo rendition of “Dagger” by shoegaze legends Slowdive… Hit her up on social media and maybe she’ll bring it back???
“circle the drain” (Something Blue)
The songs of color theory are sequenced into three, colored sets: blue, yellow, and gray. “circle the drain” – one of the album’s four opening “blue”/sad tracks – is a retro anthem of aloofness and arguably the album’s best track, so we’re very happy that it’s the one “blue” song to remain a constant in the setlist.
*Get your tickets here.
