- Soccer Mommy sweats gasoline, and on her new record Clean, she’s standing next to a bonfire, documenting the results. Out now on Fat Possum, her debut full length sees the twenty-year-old Tennessee native move away from the DIY approach that the project was born of, polishing out the fuzz and lo-fi intrigue while still retaining the poignancy and intimacy of her early recordings.
SingleYour Dog pulls no punches. The melody leans heavily on pop sensibilities while Allison’s soprano smooths the jagged edges of her muted frustration at being smothered by an overbearing partner. Mesmerising in her assertiveness, she warbles “I don't want to be your fucking dog / That you drag around / A collar on my neck tied to a pole / Leave me in the freezing cold’.
Scorpio Rising is stripped back and raw, the record’s emotional true north, it is heartbreaking in its candour. Vaguely reminiscent of Julien Baker, Allison and her guitar navigate the choppy waters of being young, in love and it’s inevitable side effects: simmering jealousy and indigestible insecurity. There are a number of sonic nuances that exemplify a slightly more grown up Mommy, too. Track Wildflowers echoes the guitar run from opening track Still Clean, subtly bookending the record. Simultaneously creating an infinite loop and contrarily, a real sense of finality.
Clean sees Allison without hesitation, unravel and unashamedly tackle the micro-traumas of new love, loneliness and isolation. There’s nothing terribly romantic about being sad and there’s nothing groundbreaking about a white girl with a guitar. What is refreshing however, is Soccer Mommy’s readiness to split herself open and let you poke around.
- Fiona Priddey.