Wikipedia

Color Theory (album)

Color Theory (stylized in all lowercase) is the second studio album by American indie rock singer-songwriter Soccer Mommy, released on February 28, 2020, by Loma Vista Recordings.[1][2]

Color Theory
Studio album by
Soccer Mommy
ReleasedFebruary 28, 2020 (2020-02-28)
StudioAlex the Great Recording (Nashville, Tennessee)
Genre
Length44:08
LabelLoma Vista
ProducerGabe Wax
Soccer Mommy chronology
Clean
(2018) 		Color Theory
(2020) 		Soccer Mommy & Friends Singles Series
(2020)
Singles from Color Theory
  1. "Lucy"
    Released: September 19, 2019
  2. "Yellow Is the Color of Her Eyes"
    Released: November 19, 2019
  3. "Circle the Drain"
    Released: January 14, 2020
  4. "Bloodstream"
    Released: February 25, 2020
  5. "Crawling in My Skin"
    Released: October 30, 2020

Background and recording

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Sophie Allison used floppy disk samples, drum machines, and sound effects on the album.[3]

Composition

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The album is divided into three parts, each named after a color. Allison has said the albums distinct sections "represent the problems that I’ve developed as I’ve grown up, and how they’ve changed me".[4]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.9/10[5]
Metacritic81/100[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [7]
Exclaim!9/10[8]
The Guardian     [9]
The Independent     [10]
Mojo     [11]
NME     [12]
Pitchfork7.8/10[13]
Q     [14]
Rolling Stone     [15]
The Times     [16]

Color Theory was met with critical acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 81, which indicates "universal acclaim", based on 22 reviews.[6]

Jayson Greene of Pitchfork wrote, "the second album from singer-songwriter Sophie Allison is piercing and unpredictable. In contrast to its bigger and brighter sound, the mood is grimmer, the emotional truths darker."[17] Michael Hann of The Guardian wrote "Sophie Allison’s second album deals with ill-health and despair, but you would hardly know it from the fantastic arrangements and tunes."[18] Hannah Mylrea of NME said the album is "as beautiful as it is brave".[19]

Accolades

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Accolades for Color Theory
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Exclaim! Exclaim!'s 50 Best Albums of 2020
41
[20]
Gigwise The Gigwise 51 Best Albums of 2020
16
[21]
The Guardian The 50 Best Albums of 2020
48
[22]
Paste Paste's 25 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
8
[23]
The 50 Best Albums of 2020
7
[24]
Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2020
26
[25]
Rolling Stone The 50 Best Albums of 2020
37
[26]
Spin Spin's 30 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year —
[27]
Stereogum Stereogum's 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
6
[28]
The 50 Best Albums of 2020
10
[29]
Under the Radar Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2020
10
[30]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Sophie Allison

Color Theory track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Bloodstream"5:37
2."Circle the Drain"4:40
3."Royal Screw Up"4:07
4."Night Swimming"4:16
5."Crawling in My Skin"4:17
6."Yellow Is the Color of Her Eyes"7:15
7."Up the Walls"2:44
8."Lucy"4:56
9."Stain"3:00
10."Gray Light"3:16
Total length:44:08

Personnel

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Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[31]

Musicians

  • Sophie Allison – vocals, songwriting (all tracks); acoustic guitar (1–4, 7, 8), electric guitar (1–6, 8–10), EPS 16 (3, 4), Prophet (5, 6, 10), Mellotron, Wurlitzer (6); keyboard (8), Juno (9)
  • Rodrigo Avendaño – piano, SH-101, Prophet (1); SP-404 (2), electric guitar (5, 8), organ (7), keyboard (8)
  • Julian Powell – electric guitar (1–8, 10), Wurlitzer (1), twelve-string guitar (2), piano (3, 4), acoustic guitar (5)
  • Gabe Wax – SH-101 (1, 2), Prophet (1, 5, 6), EPS 16 (1, 5), Juno (2, 3), SP-404, percussion (2); electric guitar (3, 6), conga, ambience (3); background vocals (3, 6, 10), bass (4, 7), OP-1 (5), Wurlitzer (7, 10), shaker (7), keyboard (8), organ, drum programming (10)
  • Graene Goetz – bass (1–3, 5, 6, 8, 10), MicroKORG (2)
  • Ryan Elwell – drums (1–3, 5–8)
  • Brett Resnick – pedal steel guitar (6, 10)
  • Mary Lattimore – harp (6)
  • Jackson Foraker – twelve-string guitar (7)

Production and artwork

  • Gabe Wax – production, recording
  • Boone Wallace – recording assistant
  • Lars Stalfors – mixing
  • Joe LaPorta – mastering
  • Joe Nino-Hernes – vinyl cutting
  • Brian Ziff – photography
  • Lordess Foudre – package design

Charts

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Sales chart performance for Color Theory
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[32] 52
US Billboard 200[33] 142
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[34] 7
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[35] 22

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Hussey, Allison (January 14, 2020). "Soccer Mommy Announces New Album color theory, Shares New Song: Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  2. ^ Shaffer, Claire (February 3, 2020). "Soccer Mommy Faces Down the Darkness". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  3. ^ https://www.npr.org/2020/03/05/808956494/soccer-mommy-on-color-theory-i-want-to-keep-growing-until-i-hit-the-ceiling
  4. ^ Mylrea, Hannah (2020-02-27). "Soccer Mommy – 'Color Theory': a deeply moving account of personal pain set to warm lo-fi pop". NME. Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  5. ^ "color theory by Soccer Mommy reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  6. ^ a b "color theory by Soccer Mommy Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  7. ^ Donelson, Marcy. "color theory – Soccer Mommy". AllMusic. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  8. ^ Bell, Kaelen (February 25, 2020). "Soccer Mommy: color theory". Exclaim!. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  9. ^ Hann, Michael (February 28, 2020). "Soccer Mommy: Color Theory review – grief and depression given glorious voice". The Guardian. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  10. ^ Bray, Elisa; O'Connor, Roisin; Yuill, Bessie (February 27, 2020). "Album reviews: Caribou, Princess Nokia and Soccer Mommy". The Independent. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  11. ^ Aston, Martin (March 2020). "Soccer Mommy: Color Theory". Mojo. No. 316. p. 92.
  12. ^ Mylrea, Hannah (February 27, 2020). "Soccer Mommy – 'Color Theory': a deeply moving account of personal pain set to warm lo-fi pop". NME. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  13. ^ Greene, Jayson (February 28, 2020). "Soccer Mommy: color theory". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  14. ^ Cooper, Leonie (March 2020). "Soccer Mommy: Color Theory". Q. No. 408. p. 122.
  15. ^ Martoccio, Angie (March 2, 2020). "Soccer Mommy Channels Sweet, Nineties-Steeped Sadness on 'Color Theory'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  16. ^ Hodgkinson, Will (February 28, 2020). "Soccer Mommy: Color Theory review — American indie star's exercise in self‑loathing is ever so loveable". The Times. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  17. ^ Greene, Jayson. "Soccer Mommy: color theory". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  18. ^ Hann, Michael (2020-02-28). "Soccer Mommy: Color Theory review – grief and depression given glorious voice". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  19. ^ Mylrea, Hannah (2020-02-27). "Soccer Mommy – 'Color Theory': a deeply moving account of personal pain set to warm lo-fi pop". NME. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  20. ^ "50 Best Albums of 2020". Exclaim!. 2 December 2020. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  21. ^ "51 Best Albums of 2020". Gigwise. 1 December 2020. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  22. ^ "The best albums of 2020 so far". The Guardian. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  23. ^ "The Best Albums of 2020 (So Far)". Paste. June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  24. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Paste. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  25. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Pitchfork. 8 December 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  26. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Rolling Stone. 4 December 2020. Archived from the original on 8 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  27. ^ Spin Staff (May 21, 2020). "The 30 Best Albums of 2020 (So Far)". Spin. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  28. ^ "Best Albums of 2020 So Far". Stereogum. June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  29. ^ "The 50 Best Albums Of 2020". Stereogum. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  30. ^ "Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2020". Under the Radar. January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  31. ^ Color Theory (booklet). Soccer Mommy. Loma Vista. 2021. LVR00855
  32. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  33. ^ "Debuts on this week's #Billboard200". Billboard on Twitter. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  34. ^ "Alternative Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  35. ^ "Top Rock Albums Charts". Billboard. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
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