Albums to watch

color theory

Soccer Mommy

color theory

Third album of indie pop from Nashville singer-songwriter Sophie Allison produced by Gabe Wax

ADM rating[?]

7.9

Label
Concord
UK Release date
28/02/2020
US Release date
28/02/2020
  1. 10.0 |   The Skinny

    With effortless cool, razor-sharp riffs and wise takes on adolescence, Soccer Mommy surpasses expectations on color theory
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  2. 9.0 |   Exclaim

    A darker and more complex record, it displays a newfound maturity in Allison's arrangements and a decidedly higher set of stakes
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  3. 9.0 |   DIY

    She encapsulates the spiralling mundanity of feeling blue without sugar coating it with unnecessary poetry
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  4. 9.0 |   Vinyl Chapters

    The growth from previous work is apparent from the outset, and although many will still see Clean as an album that was with them in a time in need, Color Theory has grown with her fanbase and still unafraid to paint and uncompromisingly honest self-portraits
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  5. 9.0 |   Paste Magazine

    Sophie Allison’s sophomore studio album is a stark, scintillating treatise on mental and physical illness
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  6. 9.0 |   Northern Transmissions

    It’s a really special thing when someone makes a record that can transcend age, gender and capture human experience so beautifully that whatever renaissance may be happening in music, it’s a guarantee that Soccer Mommy will be around the forefront
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  7. 9.0 |   No Ripcord

    It’s a heavy, at times uncomfortable listen, but one that feels intensely relatable. It finds strength in the somber and the morose by paining it in bright colors and wonderful riff work. Once you’re drawn in, you won’t want to turn away, no matter how dark the journey becomes
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  8. 8.5 |   Under The Radar

    Color theory is a knottier, more confrontational record than Soccer Mommy's debut and it certainly lacks some of that album's pristine simplicity at times. But Allison has grown to become a more challenging songwriter
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  9. 8.3 |   Consequence Of Sound

    Sophie Allison’s sophomore album is grainy and colorful - but not in the way you'd expect
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  10. 8.0 |   The Independent

    Soccer Mommy’s sparkling choruses are still extremely hummable, and appear like rays of early morning sunlight on an album that isn’t afraid to toy with the dark
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  11. 8.0 |   NME

    Nashville singer-songwriter Sophie Allison's stunning three-part album is as beautiful as it is brave
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  12. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    Sophie Allison’s second album deals with ill-health and despair, but you would hardly know it from the fantastic arrangements and tunes
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  13. 8.0 |   Long Live Vinyl

    Capable of switching from the Juliana Hatfield-style simplicity of Stain to restless riffing in Lucy and Crawling In My Skin, Allison is only 22 but already exuding a veteran’s breadth
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  14. 8.0 |   Record Collector

    It’s Allison’s ongoing development as a songwriter that really shines here
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  15. 8.0 |   Crack

    Allison has a knack for confronting heavy subjects with a self-aware smirk. Here, she ruminates on the small pockets of beauty against a darkened exterior, presenting both the rainbow and the grey sky. Soccer Mommy is one of Gen Z’s most gifted storytellers
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  16. 8.0 |   All Music

    Though the songs here aren't quite as immediately infectious as Clean, its combination of deceptively warm surfaces, alluring melodies, and subtly distorted textures reward repeat listens with that sense of discovery. Collapse
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  17. 8.0 |   Uncut

    Alongside warm, grunge-pop songs sit the reverb-and-ambient-noise bath that is "Night Swimming," the tripped-out psych folk of "Lucy" and hugely poignant epic" Yellow Is The Color Of Her Eyes." Print edition only

  18. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Lyrics tend toward the brutal, but there's tenderness too. Print edition only

  19. 8.0 |   Rolling Stone

    Sophie Allison follows her 2018 breakthrough with a sucker punch of emotion
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  20. 7.9 |   Beats Per Minute

    Allison wrote the bulk of Color Theory in brief moments snatched while touring consistently in support of debut album Clean in the last couple of years – yet it is still a work of tightly-focused determination
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  21. 7.8 |   Pitchfork

    The second album from singer-songwriter Sophie Allison is piercing and unpredictable. In contrast to its bigger and brighter sound, the mood is grimmer, the emotional truths darker
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  22. 7.5 |   Spectrum Culture

    Allison mixes moods of indie-rock for a record that goes through the worst of it and keeps on playing
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  23. 7.5 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    A cathartic, diaristic, and enduring concoction
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  24. 7.0 |   Slant Magazine

    Explores darker, weightier subject matter than its predecessor
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  25. 7.0 |   Punk News

    Is it as good as her debut? No, but that's a tall order... yet still, the new album really is an ear-wormer worth the time and effort
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  26. 6.0 |   The FT

    American singer-songwriter explores darker shades in a solid but unremarkable new release
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  27. 6.0 |   Q

    A record that weighs heavy with low self-esteem and personal tragedy. Print edition only

  28. 6.0 |   PopMatters

    Soccer Mommy's latest album, color theory, proves that traditional stardom isn't an impossible dream, even if it's still a ways away
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  29. 6.0 |   Sputnik Music (staff)

    You can hang out in the sun with this album, but don’t expect the sort of catharsis Clean offered
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