Sometimes, Forever unveils itself slowly, steadily, as the colors and shape of "Bones" emerges out of its silvery shimmer. It's at once of a piece with
color theory, the 2020 sophomore set that consolidated
Soccer Mommy's reputation as one of the stronger '90s revivalists in 2020s indie, and something fresh. The sense that
Sometimes, Forever offers a progression for singer/songwriter
Sophie Allison is strengthened by the ripples of synths and guitars that announce "With U," a nearly psychedelic texture that soon gives way to a simmering dream world. The delicate, whispery nature of
Allison's voice combined with the sweetness of her melodies often gives
Soccer Mommy's music a floating quality, an aspect she attempts to undercut on
Sometimes, Forever by letting guitars and keyboards provide the volume and ballast. Not every moment on the album gets buttressed by forceful instrumentals -- "newdemo" murmurs quietly and somewhat eerily without ever reaching a crescendo -- but more often than not,
Soccer Mommy gins up momentum through these dense layers of effects. This is a trick that's of a specific vintage, an idea minted in the mid-'90s, just like the spare, open-ended indie rock that provides the bones of
Allison's songs. By marrying this thick haze -- somewhere between shoegaze and analog drone -- to introspective, melodic songwriting,
Soccer Mommy winds up with an album that feels simultaneously familiar and fresh, a record that delivers deliberate surprises while also acting as a soothing balm. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine