Soccer Mommy Presents a Raw Self-Portrait in "circle the drain"
Photo: Brian Ziff
Soccer Mommy's gift for nostalgic melancholy is undeniable. The project of Sophie Allison, the Nashville-bred act balances unpretentious pop melodies with the sprawling, storytelling nature of indie music's greatest stars. The result is a revolutionary talent capable of exploring lofty themes, overwhelming insecurities, and the seemingly mundane with peerless ease.
"circle the drain" sees Soccer Mommy employing her gift for complex songwriting to reveal an honest and heartbreaking reflection of herself. The raw self-portrait exists beyond an unassuming haze of '90s-evoking, fuzzed-out guitars, only parting ways momentarily to allow Allison's full vocal range to shine through. The nostalgic nature behind the track feels almost cynically purposeful, pairing music videos airing on MTV - era instrumentation with a crushing melancholy.
"I'm trying to seem strong for my love / For my family and friends / But I'm so tired of faking / 'Cause I'm chained to my bed when they're gone / Watching tv alone / Until my body starts aching," confesses Allision. It is one of many such instances throughout "circle the drain" that the Nashville-bred artist lets us in, into the walls of her dimly-lit bedroom, where the only illumination arrives from the flicker of a TV left to play an infomercial segment on repeat. "circle the drain" arrives as the lead single from Soccer Mommy's forthcoming sophomore album, color theory, which she spoke further on, sharing
"I wanted the experience of listening to color theory to feel like finding a dusty old cassette tape that has become messed up over time, because that's what this album is: an expression of all the things that have slowly degraded me personally. The production warps, the guitar solos occasionally glitch, the melodies can be poppy and deceptively cheerful. To me, it sounds like the music of my childhood distressed and, in some instances, decaying."
The sophomore album, which is set to arrive February 28, will see Allison confront the pervasive mental health and familial trials that have plagued her since pre-pubescence. And if "circle the drain" is any indication of what to expect from color theory, we are set for one of the best coming-of-age albums of the decade.
Watch the video for "circle the drain" below:
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