Soccer Mommy, the rousing indie rock project of Nashville singer-songwriter Sophie Allison, drops her fourth studio album, Evergreen, this Friday. The eleven track record taps into the simple joys and knotty pains of Allison’s life, leaving listeners with an airy, and spirited backdrop for the scenes and emotions of our own existence.

The record opens with Lost, a wondrous and pondering alt-folk tune laced with tasteful strings and subdued guitar parts that ease us into this new sonic world that Allison has deliberately created. At times calling to mind the likes of Joni Mitchell and Phoebe Bridgers, Allison has a way of making themes of aimlessness and regret somehow sonically blissful and triumphant; a talent showcased consistently throughout her impassioned career.

The second track, titled M, lets us into the yearner in Allison, demonstrated when she sings “I miss you like a loyal dog/waiting by the door to hear the lock turn.” Intentional or not, this lyricism contrasts with the abrasive and powerful proclamation in the first line of the songwriter’s 2018 indie rock classic, Your Dog, in which Allison sings “I don’t wanna be your fucking dog/that you drag around.” M, in a far more meek fashion, explores the fear of never being the same once love is lost, a feeling all too familiar in the wake of heartbreak. But Allison is not shy with giddier, gushier, and more imaginative writing later in the record; Abigail, is a dreamy and playful coming of age love song, produced with a sprinkle of 80’s glitter. It is simultaneously innocent and obsessive; towing that line of hoping one’s whimsical adoration for someone is requited.

From track to track the album jumps in theme and energy, serving both jangly indie rock riffs that might be expected from a Soccer Mommy project, and more intimate and restrained moments that allow Allison’s vocals to shine through. Songs like Driver and Some Sunny Day serve as a reminder of that knack for delivering consumable rock tracks with a blend of sonic angst and submissive lyricism, which clash together perfectly. Following these tracks is Changes, where Allison shifts gears and digs her heels into the ground, refusing to accept the impermanence of life’s characters and feelings.

Like many tracks on the record, Thinking of You harnesses a familiar sentiment, but executes the delivery with little artifice, and believable sincerity. Allison paints the feeling of yearning well; an all encompassing activity of sorts. She asks plainly, “How long is too long to be/still thinking of you?” The succeeding track, Dreaming of Falling, follows Allison on the downward spiral of the visceral pain of longing, like a never ending fall. We are let into the young songwriter’s darker side when she sings “Half my life is behind me/and the other has changed somehow.”

The album closes with its title track, Evergreen, a stripped back song with restrained guitars and folky vocals. Rather than leaving us with the trope of an optimistic acoustic ballad–a tried and true move that works wonders for many–Allison sticks to the rumination and vulnerability that seems to pour out of her throughout this record, singing “And in the light of day I only see what’s gone.”

Evergreen is influenced by nature, and immediate surroundings. This record feels like a big exhale for Soccer Mommy; a thoughtful release of emotions and a youthful, buoyant nod to new beginnings. Sophie Allison has long ago made her mark as a pioneering force in the indie rock scene, but on Evergreen we see a softer, yet wildly self-assured side of the songwriter that is sure to cement her as a classic.

Pre-order Evergreen by Soccer Mommy HERE