Soccer Mommy, the project of singer/songwriter Sophie Allison, has recently released her fourth studio album Evergreen, earning a spot in our favourite albums of 2024. Paring it back, the album returns to Soccer Mommy's organic roots, filled with emotion, powerful guitar riffs and introspective lyrics, the album explores the relationship with grief and loss. We spoke to Allison about writing and releasing such a personal project:

‍You went through some really intense experiences to be able to write this album. Did you have a clear intention of what this album was going to be when you began writing these songs?

It just kind of happened. I definitely could have guessed that that’s what I'd be writing about. Anyone going through grief knows that it's something you're thinking about all the time. So I just eventually started writing songs and they were focused around that. And it was instantly pretty clear, like, yeah, this is probably going to be a topic that I stick on for a little bit. I considered the thought that I could write three or four songs about this and run out of things that I wanted to say but that wasn't the case in the end.

I think it's really interesting what you've done with the production as well, and that intention to keep it quite raw, working with Ben Allen on the record. Wa that sonic direction influenced by the subject matter as well?

Yeah, when I started working on recording with him, or even when I started talking to him, I had the album pretty much done before we recorded anything. It was done. I think there was one song that I wrote after I started talking to Ben, which was Lost. But I had a very specific idea of what I wanted to do in a broad sense and he was really helpful in finding all of the little things that can help in the production to make it a complete picture. I really wanted it to feel breezy, light, cool and just soft and gentle and up close and personal, compared to the last record, which was a lot of production. I wanted it to feel close when you were listening to it. So he was very helpful in keeping everything really on-track. I'm a very distracted, scattered person.  Especially in the studio and he was super helpful in keeping focus and an end goal, which I think helped make it feel cohesive by the end.

What do you think was the biggest thing you learnt about yourself through writing this album?

I feel like the biggest thing overall I learned was that when it comes to change or loss you never actually know what it's going to be like. There are a lot of perceptions about what you're going to feel when things happen in your life, but it's best to just let them let them go where they need to go. I did a lot of reflection on what I take for granted. Things are constantly fleeting and changing and there's so much that I personally have taken for granted in my life and wanted to think more about for the future.

Was there a song that was really challenging to finish that you can now look at and be really proud of?

I'm really proud of Some Sunny Day. It took a lot of massaging to figure out how to put all the pieces together. There are a lot of different chords in it and a lot of progressions that flow into one another and having that be smooth takes a lot of work. That one felt really satisfying to finish and even just hearing it now, it feels really satisfying.

Are you still based in Nashville?

Yeah, I am.  

Do you think that being there influences your sound? It’s obviously a huge music community.  

I think just living here, physically and being from here, there's a little bit more like Americana folkiness in me than I used to realise. There's definitely a bit of a singer songwriter vibe that is  very alive in my music. I don’t think I pull from the country scene or anything like that.

In terms of your peers and everything that's happening in music, are there any artists that you're really excited about or that are inspiring you?  

I have really been liking Chappell Roan. I really like the new Christopher Owens album a lot. That's really, really good. Sasami, who's a friend of mine, is awesome and she's making great music. There's a band called Gummy that has put out an album pretty recently that I really like that album.

What's next?  

Tour's next. I honestly have most of the year off to hang out and live my life. But at the end of January, I start a US tour, and then I do UK after that. Then I'll be probably hitting the rest of the world. It's not all booked yet though, but it's just going to be a lot of touring.

How do you feel about touring?

I like touring. I'm actually really excited, particularly for the US one. I get to see friends and it's comfortable touring over here for me… just playing shows for people is something you start to take for granted. After doing a lot of festivals and openings, I cannot wait to go play real shows where you’re putting on a whole show and you get to sound check and get everything really how you want it. So I'm super excited. I think it's going to be really fun.  

Listen to Evergreen HERE.

@soccermommyband