Soccer Mommy Keeps Fall Evergreen -

By Lily Chambers

Change is the one word that can be used to describe the new Soccer Mommy album Evergreen. The main theme running throughout the album is all types of change: changes in life, in relationships, in having lost in memories, and in one’s own self. A secondary theme to the album seems to be grief as well as the feeling of loss and how one can get stuck in it.

Songs like “Changes” and “Salt in the Wound” focus on changes of relationships and the aftermath of those changes. “Changes” focuses on how relationships can transform a life, and the past versions of lost relationships are just turned into memories. “Salt in the Wound” focuses on what happens when a person is reminded of what shifts they’ve experienced. The reminders hold a person in their grief and pain after the shift, not letting them move on with their life.

The songs “Lost” and “Driver” also deal with relationships a bit in a different way than “Changes” and “Salt in the Wound.” “Lost” deals with longing rather than changing. The lyrics create an image of what it is like to want a second try or a do-over with a partner–just waiting to be given the chance.

“Driver” deals with dynamics in a relationship, specifically the dynamic of a grounded partner and spontaneous or flighty partner. Soccer Mommy details how this dynamic works in the grounded partner keeping the other spontaneous one on the ground but still letting them have their fun.

Another kind of shift in life explored through the album is the loss of someone and the changes that brings to a person’s life. The songs “M” and “Thinking of You” explore this concept. “M” explores the concept of waiting for someone to return to your life after missing them for a long time. Unable to accept the loss and move on, they patiently wait for them to return knowing they won’t.

“Thinking of You” explores the concept of what happens when a person gets stuck waiting for someone to come back to them. It details what the feelings are of being stuck in a memory that one is longing to return to and having it feel the same as before. This song comments on how tortuous it can be to not be able to break a routine that keeps them stuck waiting and wondering when and if it will ever end.

The song on this album that focuses on changes happening to oneself is “Dreaming of Falling.” The lyrics explain what it feels like to notice the shifts in yourself and the people around you– how it feels like being stuck when you don’t know how exactly you’ve changed, just that you have.

These lyrics combined with Soccer Mommy’s singing and instrumentals create a softer indie tone to the music overall. Some songs have elements of electronic music and a little bit of rock, giving musical variety to the album. The combination of both the lyrics, vocals, and instrumentals creates an exceptional album with no skips throughout the entire thing. The album is a perfect fit for the “sad girl fall” vibe as we come into the colder months.

Rating 5/5 stars