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Feb 25, 2020Sophie Allison, aka Soccer Mommy, just keeps getting better. Her latest record surpasses any expectations set by 2018’s Clean, which set her apart from the crowd with its effortlessly cool pop energy, razor-sharp riffs and wise takes on adolescent turmoil. With color theory, Allison revives a fiery and rebellious noughties aesthetic, upgraded with enchanting sonic clarity.
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Mar 9, 2020It’s a heavy, at times uncomfortable listen, but one that feels intensely relatable. It finds strength in the somber and the morose by paining it in bright colors and wonderful riff work. Once you’re drawn in, you won’t want to turn away, no matter how dark the journey becomes.
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Feb 28, 2020Success may not be a salve, but color theory is a resounding triumph.
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Feb 27, 2020Her signature sound is still there, yet on her latest offering, we can witness a more matured snapshot of an artist that is already wise beyond her years.
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Feb 25, 2020A darker and more complex record, it displays a newfound maturity in Allison's arrangements and a decidedly higher set of stakes.
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Feb 28, 2020Soccer Mommy has made bitter truths sound sweet without losing the harsh edges that give them poignant meaning. On color theory, Allison continues to push forward as one of the brightest talents in her genre.
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Feb 27, 2020She offers a deeply internal side to her world, buoyed by a production style rich with grains and echoes.
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Mar 2, 2020Color Theory could have been a true indie-rock stunner if more of its songs hit with the same individually distinct charge as the ones on her debut. Still, Allison’s nostalgic sadness suggests a bright musical future.
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Feb 28, 2020Though the songs here aren't quite as immediately infectious as Clean, its combination of deceptively warm surfaces, alluring melodies, and subtly distorted textures reward repeat listens with that sense of discovery.
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Feb 28, 2020Fabulous stuff: Soccer Mommy could go anywhere from here.
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Feb 27, 2020As explorations of pain go, ‘Color Theory’ is as beautiful as it is brave.
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Feb 27, 2020She has pulled off the difficult trick of developing a new signature sound, without losing the personal perspective that separated her from the pack in the first place.
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UncutFeb 20, 2020Alongside warm, grunge-pop songs sit the reverb-and-ambient-noise bath that is "Night Swimming," the tripped-out psych folk of "Lucy" and hugely poignant epic" Yellow Is The Color Of Her Eyes." [Apr 2020, p.35]
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MojoFeb 20, 2020Lyrics tend toward the brutal, but there's tenderness too. [Mar 2020, p.92]
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Feb 20, 2020It’s Allison’s ongoing development as a songwriter that really shines here. Clean now feels like preparation for the emotional and musical strength of this record: a quiet acknowledgment of the tough times that life throws at you.
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Mar 25, 2020A work of tightly-focused determination.
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Feb 28, 2020If there is anything missing from color theory, it’s a sense of intensity and surprise. Many of the songs chug along around the same midtempo, with a similar first-drum-lesson beat. Her choices are intentional.
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Feb 28, 2020This is a record written in a time of blues, yellows, and greys, but the overarching feeling is that of purification. Color Theory is an album both of pure catharsis, and proof of musical prowess.
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Feb 20, 2020A sense of maturity binds the album’s best moments.
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Mar 2, 2020Chalk Color Theory up as a sophomore slump - a misstep she’s not likely to repeat - and the most aggressively OK album of 2020.
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Feb 28, 2020Although Allison had a particular vision for the project, it's tempting to wonder how much tighter the final product would've felt had it been put through a more rigorous edit.
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Q MagazineFeb 20, 2020Color Theory is a record that weighs heavy with low self-esteem and personal tragedy. [Mar 2020, p.122]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 48 out of 55
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Mixed: 5 out of 55
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Negative: 2 out of 55
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Mar 6, 2020It's touching, charming, heartfelt and spliced with chromatic flourishes that make it feel lived in and pure.
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Mar 4, 2021
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Jul 10, 2020