Singer-songwriter Sophie Allison became one of indie rock’s brightest stars from playing DIY shows in Brooklyn before massive tours opening for Paramore and Mitski, leading her to dropping out of NYU Steinhardt and moving back to her hometown of Nashville, Tennessee to focus on her music with her proper label debut “Clean.” In early 2020, she released “color theory” to critical acclaim, but sadly due to the pandemic Soccer Mommy was not able to tour to support the record until late 2021.
Opening the show is LA-based band Peel Dream Magazine, with a dreamy shoegaze set reminiscent of Yo La Tengo and My Bloody Valentine. With 2020 being a fairly prolific year for the quartet, they released the two albums “Moral Panics” and “Agitprop Alterna” that received praise from outlets like Pitchfork.
Soccer Mommy’s show was a tight hour and a half of pure musicianship with Allison’s soft vocals ringing clear with lyrics of emotional despair. While the more obvious references to Slowdive and Cocteau Twins can be drawn, Soccer Mommy’s strengths are in her pop-infused songwriting with massive choruses akin to The Chicks or Liz Phair. This tour’s set primarily pulls from “color theory” with some early hits from her early EPs like “Henry” and especially the modern classic record “Clean.” Allison on this tour is backed by Julian Powell who absolutely shreds on lead guitar, Rodrigo Avendano who brings the space-inspired sound on the synthesizer/guitar, with Rollum Haas on drums and Nick Wiedener on bass holding down the backbeat of the rhythm section. Even with the sound bleed from an outdoor venue during spring break in Miami’s current nightlife hub, the singer’s solo moments singing “Still Clean” and a Slowdive cover of “Dagger” the artist dominated with a delicate sound.
Full Soccer Mommy at Gramps Gallery Here
Setlist:
Bloodstream
Circle the Drain
Royal Screw Up
Last Girl
Henry
Crawling in My Skin
Cool
Lucy
Gray Light
Night Swimming
Still Clean
Dagger (Slowdive Cover)
Yellow is the Color of Her Eyes
Encore:
Your Dog
Scorpio Rising
