Nashville native Sophie Allison, better known as Soccer Mommy, gifted the world sonic salvation on February 28, 2020, just a few weeks before we all started climbing the walls.
More than two years after its release, Soccer Mommy brings her dream-pop tunes to Florida alongside Peel Dream Magazine, playing Miami for the first time on March 16 at Gramps.
"We've never done a headlining show in Florida, so we're all pretty excited — especially for Miami. I think it'll be really fun," Allison tells New Times over the phone from Nashville.
The only Florida show Soccer Mommy has ever played was a spot opening for Paramore. But this time around, she and her band guitarist Julian Powell, guitarist and keyboardist Rodrigo Avendano, drummer Rollum Haas, and bassist Nick Widener — will make stops in Tallahassee, Gainesville, Tampa, Miami, Orlando, and Jacksonville.
"It's a common thing to see people commenting on everybody's Instagram, saying, 'Come to Florida,' she says, laughing. "Now I'll see comments on Instagram being like, 'Come to New York. Come to California.' I'm like, 'Guys, you need to let Florida have this one.'"
The pandemic halted Color Theory's promotion, so the tour is overdue.
"It's very strange for me, because I'm 24 right now, and to think about that it's been two years since that album came out. I'm like, 'Wow, I was really 22 when we were putting this out,'" Allison says. "When I started writing that, I must've been like 20. It's always very strange to think about that kind of stuff when it feels so present still. You know, just like playing the songs over and over again, it feels like it's still the freshest, newest thing because, in regards to what you play live, it is. It's very weird to think about the timeline."
All that said, Color Theory couldn't have come out at a more appropriate time, cradling fans during a year of sadness, confusion, and hopelessness with its honesty. For many, the album and its candid accounts of mental health, isolation, and family illness seemed like a musical version of a ThunderShirt.
"With writing, I think everyone should try to keep it just honest and not try to be an image that they're hoping to be or that they're trying to mirror," Allison says.
Allison credits her tight-knit circle of friends, family, bandmates, and boyfriend and guitarist Julian Powell as being in her corner during the making of the album.
"I have a really solid support system," she says. "I feel like I'm the type of person where my circle is small and tight, you know? Honestly, my best friends are great to have, especially when I'm having anxiety and stuff. I definitely go to those people a lot to just be able to get out of my own head. My best friends are still best friends I've had since high school, some of them even longer."
The process of creating Color Theory also helped Allison grow as an artist."I feel like just writing the songs on Color Theory definitely felt very different from Clean."
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"I feel like just writing the songs on Color Theory definitely felt very different from Clean, which honestly I feel like every time I write an album, there's this sense of growth," she explains. "You especially kinda get that feeling when you're writing these new songs after having lived with old songs for so long. You basically go into writing a new record, and you've got all of these ideas that feel fresh and different, and it's just very exciting."
During the recording of her 2018 album, Clean, Allison enlisted the help of producer Gabe Wax, who would also assist her with the production of Color Theory. Clean was the first time Allison recorded in a studio alongside a producer. She acknowledges that the process of experimenting in the studio and working with Wax gave her the confidence and drive going into Color Theory.
"My goal was always continuing to grow as a songwriter lyrically or instrumentation-wise," she says. "I feel like I grew a lot in the jump between Clean and Color Theory. I wanted to try different things and go different places."
After the release of Color Theory, Soccer Mommy has dropped a handful of singles and EPs, including "Rom Com 2004," which dropped last year.
"Originally, when I was writing it, I had gotten some inquiry about a sync thing for some romantic comedy movie, and I was like, 'I can give it a shot.' And then I wrote the song, and I really liked it, so I didn't want to give it away," Allison says of the song. "The demo was just very early 2000s pop sounding, like very clean and kind of not dissonant."
After the release, British trio Kero Kero Bonito gave the track its own twist with "Rom Com 2021."
Allison's passion for her craft has been an ever-present force since she picked up the guitar at age 5 with the goal of writing songs.
"I just never wanted to stop," she says. "It's always felt just like what makes you get up and wanna have breakfast. It's like the same thing; it's never even been a thought to not continue."
For Allison, having a traditional career or going back to college isn't an option.
"Even if I wasn't doing a career with it, I could never not be writing and making music," she says. "For me, it feels so natural, and there's no stress when it comes to making the music. Of course, there's lots of stress with other things. But, I guess in my mind, I just don't ever want to do anything else."
Soccer Mommy. With Peel Dream Magazine. 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 16, at Gramps, 176 NW 24th St., Miami; gramps.com. Tickets cost $23 via eventbrite.com.
