Soccer Mommy – Evergreen

Indie Rock | Indie Folk

74%

 

If I could have one incredibly mundane superpower, it would be the ability to make a consistent cup of tea. Until that day comes, I will remain forever baffled and disappointed by the fact that, despite my best efforts, no two cups are ever the same. I’m boiling water from the same tap in the same kettle, pouring it over the exact brand of teabag and amount of sugar that I always have; you would think that’s everything accounted for. However some cups taste like hot dishwater while others feel like you’re sipping the nectar of the gods. On paper each cup should be identical, and yet my experience fluctuates wildly every time. 

That kind of inconsistency is precisely what I’ve felt when listening to Evergreen. Every time I return to it my enjoyment varies so much that it’s almost a different album entirely. Sometimes it feels like a dull and bare bones regression of Soccer Mommy’s sound, leaving so much of the growth made on previous records by the wayside and bringing little new to the table to fill the void. Other times it feels more like a refinement. The vocals more assured, every note landing with purpose and meaning, and with a multitude of understated flourishes that leave me excited for what this record may be a stepping stone towards. Every time I come back to this record to gather my thoughts, the universe elects to flip a coin to determine whether I like it or not. All this despite the fact that I’m listening to the exact same songs every time. Tracks aren’t being swapped out for alternate takes while I’m not looking, the arrangements aren’t being altered while my back is turned, and yet somehow I never know how I’m going to feel about this record until I press play. 

On a good day it feels like Sophie Allison at her most expressive and assured. She delivers one of her finest vocal performances to date on opening track ‘Lost’, backed by hazy folk and soft strings. The melancholic autumnal atmosphere of ‘Changes’ evolves from an austere acoustic opening into a rippling dreamlike expanse. The bright echoey indie guitar flourishes of ‘M’ are immaculately arranged, with the surprise appearance of woodwinds at the track’s close injecting an extra dash of elegance. ‘Thinking Of You’ feels like it could tell an entire story with just its expressive bass work alone, while ‘Driver’ pairs a heavy stomp beat with an irresistible earworm chorus that’s been doing laps in my head all week. Although it’s album highlight ‘Abigail’ that offers a real ace up the sleeve when it comes to hooks. This ode to a video game romance is awash with bittersweet Cure-esque melodies that leave me hanging on every word. A real song of the year contender. 

However, just as often I find myself losing track of Evergreen‘s subtleties, scrambling to keep hold of small moments of beauty as they slip through my fingers. Little sparks of melody barely illuminating their surroundings, choked out by the gloom. Tracks like ‘Salt In Wound’ and ‘Dreaming Of Falling’ feel like forgettable filler, the gentle psychedelica of ‘Some Sunny Day’ soon outstays its welcome and begins to feel languid and dreary, while the industrial experimentations on ‘Anchor’ end up being far too abrasive and discordant. On a bad day the record loses so much steam in the latter half that it becomes an arduous slog to reach as far as the morose title track with any semblance of interest left intact.

Given how much my own experience with Evergreen fluctuated, it’s hard to give a helpful answer as to how much mileage you may get from this record. The only insight I can offer with any certainty is this: I have made many terrible cups of tea in my lifetime. I will undoubtedly make many more. This hasn’t stopped me from putting the kettle on every morning when I get up, because the chance of a great cuppa makes it all worth it. Whether this album will connect with you or not is impossible to predict, but those listens where everything falls into place make it worth taking a chance on.