It’s been a whirlwind couple of years for Sophie Allison, better know by her stage alias Soccer Mommy. After uploading demos to Bandcamp in 2016, she created such an exciting buzz around her that she decided to quit school and pursue music as a genuine career – something she never dreamed was conceivable. After touring with the likes of The Drums and Slowdive, she signed to Fat Possum Records and released a compilation of bedroom recordings with last year’s Collection.

Now, she’s out of her bedroom and into the studio with a full band to create her debut album, Clean, with some very credible collaborators. Produced by Gabe Wax (of the War On Drugs, Deerhunter and Beirut fame) and mixed by Ali Chant (who’s mixed for the likes of Perfume Genius and PJ Harvey), the record is a tight, and glossy half-an-hour delight. It’s a project that continues Soccer Mommy’s authenticity as an artist, as well as her knack for a strong hook, but with a more luscious soundscape to play with.

It’s not too much of a dramatic change for the artist, but it does feel like a step in the right direction. There’s a much more united nature to Clean than there is with her other work, and feels like a complete collection rather than an assemblage of bedroom work. She stated about Clean that she: “Wanted it to be a lot more cohesive than the rest of the stuff that came before,” and that she: “Wanted to make something that was a full piece of my life, that addressed similar themes and held together as a whole”. Clean cleverly does this and, at the same time, makes Soccer Mommy appear as a more experienced, unparalleled artist.

Opening track ‘Still Clean?’ showcases this with a dazzling introduction number. Instantly Soccer Mommy exhibits the trademark affection and fervour that we’ve come to know from the artist, copulated with a captivating refrain. She describes the track as, “Soft anger”, which is certainly something she’s captured with aplomb. Follow-up track, ‘Cool’, delves deeper into her written prowess and develops her prosperity as a lyricist. It’s a wickedly biting character study, chronicling a cold-hearted and distant girl, whose nonchalance and serenity makes her sacrosanct. It’s a clever little number that shows Soccer Mommy has subtlety and nuance in bundles.

Throughout Clean, it’s her versatility as an artist that is most impressive. She shows a much angrier side to her music with lead single ‘Your Dog’, where she sings: “I don’t want to be your fucking dog,” over thorny, tangled, gnarled guitars and swirling and bubbling bass, she is both proportionally antagonistic and sensitive. Whereas elsewhere on the album, she becomes lugubrious and wistful. ‘Flaw’, one of the finer songs on the record, sees Soccer Mommy ?withdraw into herself with a melancholic hymn about lovesick self-loathing that impressively pulls at the heartstrings and revels in its sadness.

Essentially, Clean is a sentimental and poignant record, that is thematically dense. Throughout there are themes of progression, loneliness, and dynamic shifts, but Soccer Mommy manages to pull it off with the deftest of touches that balance out the album tonally, along with her talented ingenuity for melody. This all comes together with the most exciting song on the record, ‘Scorpio Rising’, which showcases these themes of identity and resentment, in particular. The cohesive debut LP Soccer Mommy longed to make is here – and it’s an impressive step forward for an exciting young artist.

Liam McMillen

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Twitter: twitter.com/sopharela