Soccer Mommy Delivers Predictably Great Performance at the Fillmore

There are few things more reliable than a Soccer Mommy record. 

For the past seven years, Sophia Regina Allison, the brainchild behind Soccer Mommy, has released a series of vulnerable and elegantly crafted indie pop albums. Her 2018 debut album, “Clean,” introduced her as an emotionally raw, lovelorn singer-songwriter. Subsequent Soccer Mommy releases have added more gauze and sonic layering to the barebones, lo-fi offerings of that initial record, but the basic template has remained the same—Allison singing plaintively about heartbreak, loss and self-doubt over fuzzy tunes that recall 90s alternative rock acts such as Hole and Liz Phair. 

On Saturday night at the Fillmore, Allison and her band brought that same dependable energy to a sold-out crowd, the second of her two gigs at the venerable venue as part of her headlining slot for this year’s annual Noise Pop Fest.

Drawing heavily from her celebrated 2024 release, “Evergreen,” Allison performed faithful, emotive versions of her studio albums, blasting through her setlist with the able backing of her four-piece touring band.

Other than a few friendly thank-yous to the receptive Fillmore crowd, Allison kept the stage banter to a minimum, befitting an artist whose priorities always seem to favor substance and productivity over performative, superficial statements.

The crowd reacted warmly to the nine songs Allison performed off “Evergreen,” but perhaps the biggest response came to her set closer, “Your Dog,” the defiant screed against abusive relationships that’s long been a “Clean” favorite.

Following a brief sojourn backstage (very brief—Allison really doesn’t seem to have time for silly theatrics), the band came back for a two-song encore. She closed out her performance with a fiery performance of “Don’t Ask Me,” a powerful shoegaze track from 2022’s acclaimed album, “Sometimes, Forever.”

It was a thrilling end to a predictably great show. We’ve been trained to expect brilliance from Soccer Mommy, and on Saturday night Allison and company more than lived up to that promise.