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Soccer Mommy - Collection (Fat Possum Records)
Released: August 4th, 2017
Sophie Allison's solo project, Soccer Mommy, is back with its sophomore album, Collection. She put out her first record a little over a year ago in June 2016 under Orchid Tapes, titled For Young Hearts. Since transferring over to Fat Possum Records this is her first full length album, which does contain some reworked versions of songs from her debut.
I have never listened to any of her music before this album, but I saw multiple tweets commending her work on this project, so I decided to give it a try. Overall, I was extremely underwhelmed. Normally, I am a huge fan of anything Fat Possum puts out, but this one fell way short.
Throughout Collection, Allison's voice feels very dead and boring. Especially on cuts like "Inside Out", even though she expands during the chorus, her vocals in the verses prior and later on already drag down the song. The instrumental isn't bad on this track though, and that goes for many of the tracks as well.
"Death by Chocolate" and "Out Worn" are my favorite on this album because of the instrumentals. I love the gentle synth work on "Death by Chocolate". It adds a nice layer, especially on the intro and outro sections. "Out Worn" is a pretty decent lo-fi indie-rock tune, but nothing more than that. "Try" is an okay track. It contains some nice and simple indie drumming with a smooth and twangy guitar melody. Honestly, these are the only three tracks that you may find yourself bobbing your head to.
The whole album is very dull and flat with pretty basic songwriting throughout. She's making an attempt at some lo-fi bedroom rock that turns out very moderate and plain. Many of the instrumentals are decent, but with the combination of her vocal it doesn't help the album. Not one of my favorites of the year for sure and a disappointment from Fat Possum Records. Listen below...
Listen: Soccer Mommy - Out Worn
Genre: Bedroom Pop/Lo-Fi/Pop/Indie/Indie-Pop/Dream-Pop
Fav Tracks: Death by Chocolate, Out Worn, Try
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Amy O - Elastic (Winspear)
Released: August 4th, 2017
This is Amy O's second full length album, Elastic. This is a follow-up to her 2016 release Arrow. Amy O is the stage name of Amy Oelsner, which is a name I have never heard before. Just like Soccer Mommy, I have never listened to any of Amy's music prior to this album right here, but I was happy I found her.
This project isn't that bad. Only lasting twelve songs and a half an hour, this album is full of quick and sharp indie-rock jams. There are only two songs that are longer than three minutes but that doesn't mean that these short tracks will leave you underwhelmed.
The lead track "Lavender Night" has these nice and vintage rock guitar sounds along with great song structure. Quick panning guitar sections with a rocking chorus make for a fantastic lead song. "Untouchable Heart" and "History Walking" are solid indie-rock tunes. Again, I love the guitar work on "Untouchable Heart". The track contains very simple song-writing but makes for a great track. "History Walking" is a groovy song that contains some airy background vocals along with a very fun and light keyboard melody.
One of the more relaxed tracks "Spill" is one of the best on the album. The song builds throughout but remains very low-key. A simple bass-line and guitar section support Amy's vocal on one of my favs of the whole record.
If you're looking for some quick, sharp, punchy, and very "to-the-point" indie-rock music, this is an album for you. This isn't something I would personally revisit in the future, but I could easily find someone liking this album, especially if they enjoy indie-rock music with those qualities I listed before. This album is definitely worth checking out, especially because it's only thirty minutes and you have nothing to lose. It's a fun and quick listen and it contains some nice tracks you might add to your daily rotation. Listen below...
Genre: Rock/Indie-Rock/Indie/Bedroom Rock
Fav Songs: Lavender Night, Untouchable Heart, History Walking, Cherry Blossom, Spill
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