Sophie Allison, courtesy of Ray Lego (for Under the Radar).
Sophie Allison, also known as Soccer Mommy, has emerged as an intensely creative and moving female artist in the last few years. At only 21 years old, Soccer Mommy is already extremely accomplished: since 2016, she has released three albums including her debut album proper, Clean. Clean is a massive critical success and is cited as one of the best albums of 2018 by Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Billboard, NME, and Noisey, among others.
Soccer Mommy’s Clean amassed such success for good reason. Painfully relatable, Clean is soaked in the tragedy of love lost and the desperation to be someone else. Sophie Allison intimately understands this agony, and she delivers her commentary through poignant metaphors and gritty guitar licks. On “Skin,” she sings “Cause I’m a puzzle piece trying to fit just right / So I could be someone who’s stuck inside your mind,” exposing her vulnerability and liquid personality, constantly contorting to what others need her to be. “You’re still in my skin / I just wish you also felt like this,” she admits.
Clean by Soccer Mommy, courtesy of Sophie Allison via bandcamp.
Clean is littered with moments just like this; heart-thumping realizations contained by lyrics that sink deep into your bones. These moments are almost painful, but they are simultaneously so beautiful that you can’t turn away. In “Scorpio Rising,” Allison realizes she can’t change who she is at her core, singing “I’m just a victim of changing planets / My Scorpio rising, and my parents.” Ultimately, Clean is a journey of self-acceptance; we learn that, when the stars are impossibly crossed, we don’t need to change ourselves to be what someone else wants.
This lesson is incredibly important, especially while women are still fighting to be noticed and respected in the music industry and elsewhere. Soccer Mommy is among the inspiring women that remind us that it is not us who need to change; it’s society.
Check out Clean here.