Soccer Mommy announces her new full-length album, Sometimes, my Forever. Produced by Daniel Lopatin of Oneohtrix Point Never, this album cements Sophie Allison’s status as one of the most gifted songwriters making rock music right now. It sees Allison once again tapping into the turn-of-the-millenium sensibilities she’s known for, as she advances her self-made sonic world beyond the present and into the future with experimental-minded production, an expanded moodboard of vintage touchstones, and some of her most sophisticated songwriting to date. Inspired by the concept that neither sorrow nor happiness is permanent, Sometimes, Forever is a fresh peek into the mind of an artist who synthesizes everything — retro sounds, personal tumult, the relatable disorder of modern life — into original music that feels built to last a long time. Maybe even forever.

The first peek into Sophie Allison’s boldest and most aesthetically adventurous work yet is the compulsively replayable and consummate banger “Shotgun,” which likens romance to a chemical high without the gnarly comedown. “‘Shotgun’ is all about the joys of losing yourself in love,” explains Allison. “I wanted it to capture the little moments in a relationship that stick with you.” Sometimes, Forever is partly inspired by the push and pull between Allison’s desire to make meaningful art and her skepticism about the mechanics of careerism, as well as the artless administrative chaos that comes with it.

Sometimes, Forever fixates on those sorts of contradictory forces: desire and apathy, ecstasy and misery, good and evil, self-control and wildness. Straight-up love songs rub up against much gloomier fare. Allison understands that Sometimes, Forever is lyrically dark, with macabre imagery haunting even its most upbeat passages. But because she’s in a better place than when she wrote the songs, she has no trouble luxuriating in the moments of uncomplicated bliss that coexist alongside the bleakness. She says, “I didn’t want to make something super depressing without any sense of magic.” 

The title Sometimes, Forever refers to the idea that both good and bad feelings are cyclical. “Sorrow and emptiness will pass, but they will always come back around — as will joy,” Allison says. “At some point you’re forced to say, I’ll just have to take both.”

Photo Courtesy: Sophie Hur