Three Reasons: Soccer Mommy Returns to Eraserhood (1/25 at Union Transfer)

Congratulations to those of you who got the Criterion reference in the title!  It seemed fitting, as Sophie Allison has recently been rebranded (on some scale) as not only...

Congratulations to those of you who got the Criterion reference in the title!  It seemed fitting, as Sophie Allison has recently been rebranded (on some scale) as not only the woman behind Soccer Mommy, but a part-time cinephile and potential film critic in the making…  Prior to a feature for Letterboxd that had her discussing Four Horror Favorites (Jennifer’s Body, Suspiria, The House of the Devil, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre) for Halloween, the Nashville-based, Loma Vista indie rock singer/songwriter shared her own, personal Letterboxd account via Twitter, advising, “okay you can follow my letterboxd do not judge me! ”

Sophie’s Letterboxd features charming commentaries on recent favorites like The Substance and Babygirl, but also includes a number of Criterion classics.  Included in her Favorite Films is Mulholland Drive, by Eraserhood’s namesake (R.I.P.); a recent viewing of John Cassavetes’ A Woman Under the Influence (which she gave 5 stars) prompted her to proclaim, “absolute slam dunk for gena”; and her affinity for Todd Haynes includes 1995’s Safe, whose Three Reasons you can see here.

However, this week Sophie’s taking Soccer Mommy back out on the road for a four-month-long world tour in support of Evergreen, her fourth LP, which dropped last October, and that’s what we’re really most excited about (Although we are hoping that Sophie logs at least one more particular film before returning to Eraserhood.)  After kicking off the tour in Atlanta, Soccer Mommy will be returning to Union Transfer this Saturday, January 25th, and here are Three Reasons why you should definitely be there.

1. IT’S SOCCER MOMMY’S MOST INTIMATE SHOW IN PHILADELPHIA SINCE 2021

Seeing Sophie open the 14,000-capacity Mann Center for Maggie Rogers on a wet July night in 2023 with a set that rivaled the spectacle of the headliner and featured Soccer Mommy’s recently released cover of Sheryl Crow’s “Soak Up The Sun” was pretty great.  And Touring, Forever’s stop at the cavernous, 2,700-capacity Franklin Music Hall the year before included now-classic adolescent anthems like “Crawling in My Skin,” “Lucy,” and “Still Clean,” in addition to 10/11ths of Sometimes, Forever, leaving little to be desired musically.  And while it seems unlikely that Soccer Mommy will be able to return to Johnny Brenda’s, The Church, or World Café Live at this point, there is something great about getting to see her at a black box rock club in the middle of a neighborhood that inspired David Lynch’s most profound work.

2. “DRIVER” AND THE REST OF EVERGREEN

“Driver” – a song built for rock clubs and Evergreen’s third single, which Sophie has characterized as, “A love song that’s really about someone being there for you in spite of your shortcomings.” – was recently voted the 19th best song of 2024 by Y-Not Radio, home of Philthy Radio.  And while Sophie has noted that that particular song is, “more light hearted than some of the other songs I’ve put out this year, using my distractedness as a bit of a punchline,” the moodiness and sonic slenderness of much of the album also seems particularly well-suited to the nightclub setting.

(video courtesy of DJIronMike)

3. LAST TIME WAS STELLAR

In September of 2021, about a month after Japanese Breakfast officially reopened Union Transfer, and unofficially welcomed live music back to the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection, Soccer Mommy graced the 215 with the best Saturday night we had seen in years.  Eraserhood’s closest thing to a ballroom was packed with a combination of fans dating back to the Clean/Fat Possum days and newcomers who seemed to be experiencing indie music live for the first time.  The tour was the long-awaited live debut of February 2020 sophomore LP color theory, arguably Soccer Mommy’s quickest-to-legendary effort.  The set featured 9 of the album’s 10 songs, in addition to a number of tracks from Soccer Mommy’s lo-fi bedroom pop days.  Read my original review here.

*Get your tickets here.

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During the day Izzy Cihak teaches transgression, subversion, and revolution at Temple University. At night he haunts Philthy's best venues to cover worthwhile acts for Philthy Mag. Morrissey is everything to him and, in their own heads, all of his friends see themselves as Zooey Deschanel.

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