Released May 1 via 100m Records
[dropcap]F[/dropcap]or all of the incredible sounds that Soccer Mom present here on their fresh self-titled LP, it’s hard to believe that this is the Boston quartet’s first proper album. After all, Soccer Mom have been out and rocking for a while now — killing us not-so-softly at their inspiring (and loud) shows and playing side-by-side with some of the New England scene’s biggest bands.
But here it is, brand new and cherry red out here before us; full of delicately crushing sounds and heartfelt melodies, branches twisting with gnarled weaves of prettiness and ugliness, long and sprawling as these very sentences before you. But don’t be afraid: these tunes are as solid as giant apples; take a bite or go for the whole thing. Ripe with new attitudes on shoegaze and post-rock sounds, the self-titled Soccer Mom, out May 1 off 100m Records with a release party May 3 at Great Scott, is both a full eclipse and complement to the band’s 2011 EP, You Are Not Going To Heaven. It’s also an expression of bigger things to come.
Albums this good take time to make, and Soccer Mom did well to let this one sit and figure itself out. Recorded at Somerville’s Napoleon Complex by Shaun Curran (Soft Pyramids), the album reveals itself through piles and ailes of guitar tracks and tones that stake out a unique turf for the group. It’s only from there that the engaging rhythms and solid vocals emerge as a near-subliminal factor in the noise-making. It’s clear that Soccer Mom are working within known territory here, carefully resurrecting the vibes of early post-rock bands and ’90s Chicago mathy/jazzy shizz, as well as usual shoegaze suspects like Ride, My Bloody Valentine, Swirlies, etc. (especially the intermittent warped guitar tracks, mid-measure drum-fills, and telltale cooing courtesy of none other than guest vocalist, ex-Swirlie Deborah Warfield… duh, right?). That said, they manage to really sound nothing like these bands outside of a few trappings and fetters (in fact it’s these trappings that will initially draw some listeners in).
Compositionally, Soccer Mom have their own sense of being somewhat epic, whilst being melodically memorable and direct. “It’s Probably Not Your Fault” was one of many tracks that the band could have chosen to open the album, and it doesn’t slow down from there. Cranked heavy amps, sludgy riffs and beautifully melodic/dissonant guitar coloring swirl headlong into a stream of propulsive rhythms, as the band works together through a series of changes and chords that create a cliffhanging yet satisfying effect when the melody pays off. To be played loud, indeed.
For all their loudness and virtuoisity, Soccer Mom are really just a bunch of big softies, though, and don’t let ’em tell you otherwise. A sweetness and strong bittersweet melodic bend undermines many of their biggest attempts to be dissonant and harsh here. Dig how “Sundown Syndrome’s” shy-guy question “What’s a boy to do/But hang around with you,” sung ever-so-directly over a frenetic Crazy Rhythms-meets-Daydream Nation groove, is met with “7.15’s” winsome, heartache-striken observation that “there’s a moment when you think that something’s wrong.” Viva la juxtaposition.
This album’s gonna hurt you and thrill you.
SOCCER MOM + INFINITY GIRL + BEDROOM EYES + PALEHOUND :: Saturday, May 3 @ Great Scott, 1222 Commonwealth Ave., Allston, MA :: 9 p.m., 21-plus, $9 :: Advance tickets :: Facebook event page
Here are the first three tracks off Soccer Mom…
