Two years after color theory, Soccer Mommy is readying the release of her new album, Sometimes, Forever. Produced by Daniel Lopatin, aka Oneohtrix Point Never, who recently contributed on The Weeknd’s Dawn FM, the project is spearheaded by lead single “Shotgun,” which dusts off the 90s alt rock influences of soccer mommy’s first album.

“”Shotgun” is all about the joys of losing yourself in love,” Sophie Allison stated. “I wanted it to capture the little moments in a relationship that stick with you.”

“Shotgun” also comes with a video, directed by Kevin Lombardo. Watch and pre-order the album via Bandcamp below.

Like every year, our team vote for their favourite tracks of the year. You can stream this list, as well as other tracks that were close to entering the top, via our Spotify and Apple Music playlists below. You can also check our Best Albums and Best EPs/Mixtapes of 2020.

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50. Julia-Sophie – “x0x”

49. Blue Hawaii – “Not my Boss!”

48. Zelma Stone – “Fly”

47. Young Ejecta – “Crayon Cactus”

46. Sedona – “Crying On My Own”

45. Zoee – “Rio’s”

44. Prince Innocence – “Angelyne”

43. Laura Groves – “Foolish Games”

42. Cindy Lee – “I Want You To Suffer”

41. Lido Pimienta- “Eso Que Tu Haces”

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40. Jayda G – “Both Of Us”

39. NNAMDÏ – “Perfect In My Mind”

38. Lomelda – “Hannah Sun”

37. Braids – “Young Buck”

36. Against All Logic, Estado Unido, FKA Twigs – “Alucinao”

35. oklou – “unearth me”

34. Kate NV – “Sayonara”

33. Agar Agar – “Nap”

32. Annie – “The Streets Where I Belong”

31. Beadadoobee – “Worth it”

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30. TOPS – “I Feel Alive”

29. Yves Tumor – “Gospel For A New Century”

28. Dua Lipa – “Physical”

27. Cakes da Killa, Proper Villains – “Don Dada”

26. Namasenda – “Wanted”

25. Ultraflex – “Never Forget My Baby”

24. Shamir – “On My Own”

23. Discovery Zone – “Dance II”

22. Couch Prints – “Of Drawing”

21. Nilüfer Yanya – “Crash”

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20. Cindy – “2y & 6m”

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19. Bullion – “We Had A Good Time”

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18. Kelly Lee Owens – “Melt!”

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17. Phoebe Bridgers – “Garden Song”

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16. Waxahatchee – “Can’t Do Much”

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15. Maria Minerva – “Apology”

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14. Shygirl – “FREAK”

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13. Jónsi, Robyn – “Salt Licorice”

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12. Perfume Genius – “On The Floor”

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11. Ela Minus – “Megapunk”

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10. Romy – “Lifetime”

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9. SAULT – “Wildfires”

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8. Soccer Mommy – “circle the drain”

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7. Eartheater – “Below The Clavicle”

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6. Helena Deland – “Comfort, Edge”

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5. Fiona Apple – “I Want You To Love Me”

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4. Charli XCX – “Forever”

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3. Dehd – “Loner”

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2. Christine and the Queens – “People, I’ve Been Sad”

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1. 070 Shake – “Guilty Conscience”

We’re only 6 months into 2020 and it actually feels that the world as we know it is about to collapse. Who knows what’s coming next? For better or worse, a lot of things are simultaneously happening around us and music has been an essential way to find hope and kill time. In 2020, artists need us more than ever and, in case you did not figure it out while being stuck at home, we also need them. Can you really imagine a lockdown without music? We can’t. As we’re now at the mid-way point of this exceptionally horrible year, it’s time to share with you, like every year, the 30 tracks that have helped us to hold on so far. If you need more to cheer you up, you can also explore our other favourite tracks of 2020 via our Spotify and Apple Music playlists below.

070 Shake – “Guilty Conscience”
Agar Agar – “Nap”
Annie – “American Cars”
Boyish – “AnDroGay”
Caribou – “Never Come Back”
Charli XCX – “forever”
Christine and the Queens – “People, I’ve been sad”
Cindy – “Never Let Me Go”
Cindy Lee – “I Want You To Suffer”
Couch Prints – “Of Drawing”
Discovery Zone – “Blissful Morning Dream Interpretation Melody”
Dua Lipa – “Physical”
Fiona Apple – “Shameika”
Geranium – “Separate Life”
Kate NV – “Sayonara”
Magdalena Bay – “Airplane”
Moses Sumney – “Virile”
MOTHERMARY – “Catch Fire”
Perfume Genius – “On The Floor”
Phoebe Bridgers – “Garden Song”
Planet 1999 – “Party”
SAULT – “Wildfires”
Soccer Mommy – “circle the drain”
TOPS – “Direct Sunlight”
Waxahatchee – “Can’t Do Much”
Yaeji – “When I Grow Up”
Young Ejecta – “Crayon Cactus”
Yves Tumor – “Gospel For A New Century”
Zelma Stone – “Dreamland”
Zoee – “Rio’s”

The undisputed sound of sad girl alternative returns with a melancholic ’90s inspired single, “circle the drain”. As the title might suggest, Soccer Mommy‘s new song is a murmuring, mournful banger. With the repeated mantra “Hey I’ve been falling apart these days/Split open watching my heart go round and around, round and around, circle the drain, I’m going down,” the track possesses a candour and simplicity that works better than being overly flowery or verbose. Sometimes, the best way to capture a feeling most accurately is to be as frank and open about it as possible. Soccer Mommy displays the knowledge with deft precision.

For a song that’s about feeling absurdly low, about that overwhelming feeling that occurs when the entire world just feels too weighty, the sound is unusually cheery. With delicately tinkling chimes in the background and the simplistic guitars, the composition of “circle the drain” is made to purposefully mislead the listener. This is typical of a Soccer Mommy track and is one of the reasons her music is so captivating.

The accompanying visuals are 90’s through and through; from the skateboarding twenty-somethings descending on an abandoned water park to the desolate and dry landscape in which we see Allison standing in front of a convertible car, singing to camera of her woes with a crackled edge like it’s been shot on film and then replayed to the point of near exhaustion. Visually, it brings to mind old school Avril Lavigne meets The Cardigans, an air of rebellion and apathy that speak through the candid breaking and entering and trespassing. Watch and pre-order the album via Bandcamp below.

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First, no one can be objective, there’s no truth in music. Then, it can be mentally difficult for artists to accept these insights. We are music fans above all and we never want to hurt anyone. Our goal is only to discover new talents and to bring them to our readers’ ears. We know they don’t always have the time to listen to everything we scan and write about during the year so these lists are just recommendations of what they should first focus on. Nothing more.

We know it’s a shared subjective feeling: 2018 has been another great year for music. We got introduced to fascinating newcomers with strong concepts that prove that albums are certainly not dead yet. Some rising singer-songwriters confirmed their defining style while a few established artists successfully re-recorded their masterpiece or explored challenging new soundscapes. You can find below the 30 albums that made 2018 according to our staff and stay tuned for our usual 100 Tracks of the year list next week.

30) Amen Dunes – Freedom

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29) Kadhja Bonet – Childqueen

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28) Yves Tumor – Safe in the Hands of Love

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27) Whitney Ballen – You’re A Shooting Star, I’m A Sinking Ship

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26) Tirzah – Devotion

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25) CupcakKe – Eden

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24) Rosalía – El Mal Querer

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23) Tomberlin – At Weddings

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22) Sidney Gish – No Dogs Allowed

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21) Ezra Furman – Transangelic Exodus

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20) Kali Uchis – Isolation

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19) Janelle Monáe – Dirty Computer

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18) Frankie Cosmos – Vessel

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17) U.S. Girls – In A Poem Unlimited

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16) Ariana Grande – Sweetener

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15) Ex:Re – Ex:Re

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14) Car Seat Headrest – Twin Fantasy

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13) Tierra Whack – Whack World

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12) IDLES – Joy As An Act of Resistance.

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11) illuminaties hoties – Kiss Yr Frenemies

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10) Mr Twin Sister – Salt

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9) SOPHIE – Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Sides

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8) Low – Double Negative

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7) noname – Room 25

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6) Soccer Mommy – Clean

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5) Beach House – 7

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4) Robyn – Honey

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3) Lucy Dacus – Historian

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2) Snail Mail – Lush

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1) Mitski – Be The Cowboy

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