Album Review: Soccer Mommy - 'color theory'

Soccer Mommy wants you to know that concept albums are not dead. They’re getting even darker, and she likes it that way.

The labelists of the world will inevitably call her new record "indie-alternative", and by definition, they may not be wrong. Allison, who goes by the stage name Soccer Mommy, has spent the last several years performing on the road, opening for bands like Vampire Weekend and Paramore, perhaps proving that this is the segment of the industry she belongs in. The crowds have seemingly taken a liking to her.

But it would be wrong to put her music in a box. 

While there are elements reminiscent of alternative influences like Avril Lavigne or Billie Joe Armstrong, her sound is different. Maybe it's her Nashville roots, but her approach is straightforward, not unlike some tracks off a Sheryl Crow record.  

Much of the music industry has gotten used to the female pop star, but Allison, thankfully, doesn't adhere to that. "I'm the princess of screwing up", she sings on "Royal Screw Up". Real music women are not good girls, and they don't make records for the sake of the charts. On Color Theory, Soccer Mommy reminds us that the bottom line of songwriting is truthfulness. 

Allison, at age twenty-two, gives off the impression that she has lived a lifetime or two and seen a few things along the way. Those things aren't always pleasing -- her lyrics are hauntingly honest about some of her personal experiences. "I'm watching my mother drown", she sings on "Gray Light", referring to the years she's spent dealing with her mother's terminal illness. It's tragic, but admirable. In the age of the radio hook, Allison opts to impact the listener in another way -- through candid lyrics about just how fragile, and hard, life can be. For Soccer Mommy, that personal darkness makes her all the more human.

Words by Allison Rapp

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