Soccer Mum

On the evening of the General Election, absolutely knackered from a day at work and then visiting the polling station, I needed a boost, and it came in the form of the US indie rockers Soccer Mommy.

I first heard of them in 2020, deep into the pandemic - their song bloodstream heavily connected with me and held me through some of the darkest months of my life. I then got to watch them support one of my all time favourites, The National, at Alexandra Palace last September, so when they announced a gig in Norwich, I was immediately all over it!

The night started with a Wolf Alice/Slowdive amalgamation in the form of Manchester based TTSSFU - their seven song set spanned the full spectrum of emotions, from murderous rage to fancying Adam Driver - I was super impressed.

After a quick peek at the sunset that was starting to form outside, I headed back in to slot myself firmly in the third row ready for Soccer Mommy. After setting up their gear (and brandishing NAC branded water bottles), the buzz truly began. The set opened with Bones, one of the singles from their 2022 album Sometimes, Forever and then barrelled through a mix of their discography, a lot coming from their second album color theory. We also got a handful of songs from their major label debut Clean, which lead singer Sophie Allison stated that they had wanted to do some songs from it as they’d been testing out new material back over in the States, and felt inspired to do some older tracks on this stint of European gigs. The energy was fluid and transfixing - I barely saw phones out throughout most of the show which was refreshing! The band were so connected and really tuned into the vibes of the NAC, with some really beautiful and heavy moments throughout the set, especially with bloodstream and yellow is the color of her eyes. I’ve got to shout out the drummer, too - I sadly didn’t catch his name but the force put into the drum kit had my jaw dropping at times; it was fantastic to watch. The lead singer Sophie also went solo with her guitar towards the end for Still Clean, which left me with goosebumps. Her lyrics are so melancholic and wistful yet catchy, and finally hearing a full set from her and the band was a treat.

After a brief encore, they returned for Your Dog, an absolute anthem from Clean, with the band being cheered with rapturous applause afterwards. I highly doubt Soccer Mommy will ever be back at the NAC again, so I was blessed to see them in a venue this small. It was an amazing evening!

Soccer Mommy continued their UK/EU tour this week in Cambridge, and are now moving onto the Rock Werchter and Mad Cool festivals next week. Their latest single Lost is available on all streaming platforms now.

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