Sometimes, Forever, Soccer Mommy (7/10)

I've never been the biggest Soccer Mommy fan; while I like a couple of her songs, she exists somewhere in the indiedom that is generally a little too poppy for my liking. She released a few songs off this album as singles, and I had had pretty mixed reviews. I really liked "Shotgun," didn't really like "Unholy Affliction," and felt somewhat neutral about "newdemo." I was pretty pleasantly surprised by the album, though! I've listened to it all the way through three times now, and I have to say I think it's an album that benefits from multiple listens. While, at first listen, a lot of the songs melted together and sounded like similar indie pop anthems, I've begun to appreciate some of the nuances of each of them, and there's some that I really actually like. Soccer Mommy definitely starts experimenting a bit in this album, too, with "Unholy Affliction" and "Darkness Forever" venturing into a more dark/synthy/electronic arena. While, I don't particularly like "Unholy Affliction," I have to praise the experimentation, and I actually think it works really well on "Darkness Forever." Lyrics in general are great even if the melodies are a bit on the poppy side for me. Overall, while Soccer Mommy is still not one of my favorite artists, I definitely have gained an appreciation for her through this album. Favorite tracks: Shotgun, Fire In the Driveway, With U