Sophie Allison (a.k.a. Soccer Mommy) mines similar themes of dejection and isolation as many of today's female indie songwriters, but her music isn't as singular as Phoebe Bridgers's, nor as anguished as Julien Baker's, nor as aggressive as Snail Mail's. Allison's songs are hazy and slow-a musical ethos that was practically the guiding principle of her sophomore effort, 2020's Color Theory. The lead single from that album, the otherwise catchy "Circle the Drain," exudes the foggy detachment that's ubiquitous to her style of indie rock. On Sometimes, Forever, Allison attempts to keep one foot in that sonic world while charting a new direction on certain tracks. "Unholy Affliction" opens with glitchy sound effects, with Allison calmly sings over a backing track of frantic drum fills and keyboard runs. But while the album is more musically adventurous than Color Theory, the hooks aren't as memorable. Sometimes, Forever loosely follows the traumatic effects of a breakup, interwoven with observations about corruption in the music industry and toxic fan culture. Images of blood and bones are repeated and recontextualized throughout, as on the one-two punch of "Bones" and "With U," which portray the toxicity of a relationship, of wholeness and coming apart, as if Allison is attempting to refigure the narrative that plays in her head. ADVERTISEMENT Exploring recurring themes of death, money, and pleasure, Allison navigates the turmoil of her relationships with lovers, fans, and music itself. Not all of these ideas are fully fleshed out though. "Shotgun," for one, features a striking central image of Allison as a bullet "waiting to sound," but it's wielded more as a provocative metaphor than as a meaningful representation of her angst. Though Sometimes, Forever is more sonically diverse and lyrically cohesive than Soccer Mommy's previous albums, its lyrical themes and melodies aren't nearly as indelible.