Under the name Soccer Mommy, 20-year-old Sophie Allison creates the type of mellow rock songs that can break your heart and then make you feel like you’re getting a giant, warm hug in the shift between a verse and a chorus. It’s the type of brilliant songwriting maneuver that might come as a surprise from someone who’s on record in the Fader saying that Avril Lavigne’s Under My Skin (2004) was the first album to change her life. On Allison’s first proper full-length, this year’s Clean (Fat Possum), she pairs hyperpersonal lyricism with a huge dose of 90s alt-rock (an obvious comparison would be her former tourmate, Liz Phair). The whole thing is beautiful, stirring, and emotionally moving—clearly the work of someone wise and talented beyond her years. I recently cooked a giant pot of homemade tomato soup while listening to Clean, and I can’t state enough how perfect of a complement it was to enjoy with something so warm and comforting. v
