Sometimes, Forever＜限定盤/Colored Vinyl＞

Sometimes, Forever unveils itself slowly, steadily, as the colors and shape of "Bones" emerges out of its silvery shimmer. Its at once of a piece with color theory, the 2020 sophomore set that consolidated Soccer Mommys reputation as one of the stronger 90s revivalists in 2020s indie, and something fresh. The sense that Sometimes, Forever offers a progression for singer/songwriter Sophie Allison is strengthened by the ripples of synths and guitars that announce "With U," a nearly psychedelic texture that soon gives way to a simmering dream world. The delicate, whispery nature of Allisons voice combined with the sweetness of her melodies often gives Soccer Mommys music a floating quality, an aspect she attempts to undercut on Sometimes, Forever by letting guitars and keyboards provide the volume and ballast. Not every moment on the album gets buttressed by forceful instrumentals -- "newdemo" murmurs quietly and somewhat eerily without ever reaching a crescendo -- but more often than not, Soccer Mommy gins up momentum through these dense layers of effects. This is a trick thats of a specific vintage, an idea minted in the mid-90s, just like the spare, open-ended indie rock that provides the bones of Allisons songs. By marrying this thick haze -- somewhere between shoegaze and analog drone -- to introspective, melodic songwriting, Soccer Mommy winds up with an album that feels simultaneously familiar and fresh, a record that delivers deliberate surprises while also acting as a soothing balm. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

米・ナッシュビル出身のSophie Allisonのソロプロジェクト=Soccer Mommyの3rdアルバムではOneohtrix Point Neverを起用。先行シングル《Shotgun》や《Bones》では彼女らしいドリーミーなアンセムと並んで、《Unholy Affliction》ではOPNのアレンジが光るダウナーで実験的な楽曲もあり、独自の世界観をつくっている。2010年代後半より注目を浴び始めたSnail MailやJulien BakerといったSSWと並んで挙げられる事が多いが、この作品で他とは一線を画す新境地を切り開いた重要作だ。
intoxicate (C)石田真生