A new EP from Soccer Mommy was released on June 6, 2025, full of new songs that are all technically old songs. Titled Evergreen (Stripped), the latest EP is acoustic versions of tracks released on her most recent album Evergreen from 2024 and cleverly titled ‘stripped’ to denote the choice of acoustic guitar over electric.
Soccer Mommy (Sophie Allison) seems to be making a statement that, without the electric guitar, her music is stripped down to its most natural form. The music, being acoustic, has an Indie Folk sound. This genre of sound complements Allison’s voice well. The airiness of her singing and emotionally waning lyrics linger well over the acoustic guitar and simplified instrumentation. The flute in “Abigail (stripped)” hums with Allison’s voice, creating a harmony six notes higher than the strumming guitar. Sonically pleasing yet straightforward.
The album consists of six tracks that last twenty-two minutes, and the album cover art is a slightly modified version of the original. Only five tracks were chosen to be brought over from the original release, with one track. “She Is (stripped)” is entirely new. Its heavy reliance on a soft yet consistent acoustic chord progression is likely the reason Allison felt it did not fit in the original album. Loma Vista Recordings released the album, her third under this label. The sound quality and polish in these tracks demonstrate that they are more than just demos recorded on a phone. Unlike many extra releases, there are no extra snippets of conversation or behind-the-scenes footage of the creation of the album. Although this is a new version of previously released music, the sound of this EP is different enough from the source material album to feel like new music.
Soccer Mommy has undergone several stylistic changes in her musical style over the past decade in the industry. The Alternative era of 2020 saw her releasing some electronic kid core sound back to back with songs about cottage core longing. Outside of COVID, it feels like Soccer Mommy started in a similar boat as Clairo and Girl in Red. Where Clairo went sensual lesbian and Girl in Red went mentally anguishing, Soccer Mommy took an irreverent and electronic approach to her style.
Overall, Evergreen (Stripped) is a return to the origins, stripping back the layers of style that have accumulated over the past years to get back to the origin of Soccer Mommy. Close to the sound in her first album, which had a little more swing in its acoustic with tracks like “Skinned Knees.”
The Evergreen (Stripped) EP is not an entirely new piece of content from Soccer Mommy, but it would be right to say it feels like a return to form for the singer, who has seen some sporadic choices in the past few years. Throughout all of them, she has kept her sad yet hopeful voice as the star of the show. This new EP is a memoir of what her sound used to be. How she still embraces what makes her sound. That is why Cryptic Rock gives Evergreen (Stripped) 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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