Sophia Regina Allison (born May 27, 1997), better known by her stage name Soccer Mommy, is an American singer-songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee. She has four studio albums to her name; her latest album, Evergreen, was released on October 25, 2024.
Early life and education
Born in Zürich, Switzerland, in 1997[4] to Michelle (an elementary school teacher) and John Allison (a neuroscientist), Sophie Allison grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, where her parents had moved the family when she was a toddler.[5] She attended Nashville School of the Arts, a specialty high school where she studied guitar and participated in the school's swing band.[6]
Having been playing guitar since the age of 6, Allison began creating her own music.[7]Avril Lavigne's 2004 album Under My Skin was the first album she ever owned.[7] She began posting home-recorded songs to Bandcamp as Soccer Mommy in 2015, during the summer when she was about to leave for college. She then attended New York University (NYU), where she studied music business and English at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.[8] While in college, Allison played her first show as Soccer Mommy at the community art space Silent Barn in Bushwick, Brooklyn, and shortly after landed a recording contract with Fat Possum.[9] She dropped out of college after two years in 2017 to return to Nashville and pursue her music career.[10]
Allison's first full-length album as Soccer Mommy, For Young Hearts, was released in 2016 on Orchid Tapes.[11] Her second album, Collection, was released in 2017 on Fat Possum Records.[12][13][14][15][16] Her debut album proper, titled Clean, was released on March 2, 2018.[17]
Allison's second full-length album Color Theory was released in 2020 through Loma Vista Recordings.[23] Allison's third full-length album Sometimes, Forever was released in 2022, also through Loma Vista.[24] Allison's fourth full-length album Evergreen was released on October 25, 2024, once again through Loma Vista.[25]
Musical style and influences
Emma Bowers of Nylon stated "Sophie Allison has built a career on her capacity to mesh turn of the millennium grunge-pop and the tender, confessional songwriting of the late 2010s with uncanny sincerity and precision."[26] Her compositions are described as "hooky" and "angular." Allison herself has stated that her music is influenced by pop music and that she strives for catchy elements in her songs, and her style is also noted for its "[1990s] alt-rock ethos." Sonically, her albums have been described as "atmospheric" and "guitar-centric." Jenn Pelly of Pitchfork said "Even when Allison’s strummy music evokes a coffee house open-mic, though, there’s an edge to it."[27][28][29][30]
Allison is known for her confessional, "conversational" lyrics, which have been described as "quietly tormented".[31] Themes explored by Allison in her songs include lovesickness, self-doubt, adolescence and grief.[32][33][34] Mike Katzif of NPR said "In many Soccer Mommy songs, Allison sings with a captivating sense of yearning as she ruminates on the wounded ache of love, the uncertainty of youth and restless wanderlust."[35] Jenn Pelly of Pitchfork said "her hazy singing can be conversational and appealingly flat. She sounds like a person you might know."[36]
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