REVIEW: Soccer Mommy Returns with Otherworldy New Single “Rings of Saturn”
REVIEW
REVIEW
☆ BY BECKHAM ROCK ☆
Photo by Monica Murray
SOCCER MOMMY IS BACK–releasing her first new song in two years with “Rings of Saturn” out everywhere now. Sophie Allison, better known as Soccer Mommy, has made her voice known over the past decade as a prominent indie rock singer-songwriter. Allison’s most recent album, Evergreen, hit the scene in 2024, and she now ushers in a new era with “Rings of Saturn.” The dazzling single came ahead of Soccer Mommy joining fellow indie rock band, Snail Mail, on a headlining tour across America.
In “Rings of Saturn,” Allison speaks to both the stars and those who like to get lost in them. This holds true in every sense of the single’s production. The aforementioned sentiment is found in both the vocal and instrumental components but also the twinkling, dream-like graphics of the lyric music video, created by Suji Park, that mimics the magnetic pull of looking to space.
“This song is about feeling lost and looking for hope from anywhere,” Allison explains. “I wrote it during a difficult time when I would often take my telescope out into the yard to look at the moon or at planets. There’s something about feeling small that can kind of take the weight off.”
The single’s opening crescendo conveys this foreboding vastness of space before chiming in with fuzzy acoustics. Allison crafts guitar lines that serve as a sturdy foundation for her delicate vocals. The progression blends with the single’s other instrumentals to highlight an ethereal sound. Allison is not one to shy away from incorporating experimental elements in her music’s production, and “Rings of Saturn” is no exception. The warbling undertone of the synthesizer further strengthens the single’s out-of-this-world feel.
Allison’s lyrics thread together to further convey the theme of looking for comfort in the cosmos. The single opens up with the lines, “I'm looking for a sign / I'm not alone tonight.” Before breaking into the chorus, the verse ends with Allison asking, “Rings of Saturn, do you hear me when I cry?” Allison evokes the feeling of pleading with the universe for a signal that we are not alone while also highlighting the strange solace in the knowledge that we’re simply a speck in comparison to the expanse of space. The chorus follows with, “'Cause tonight / I feel like I'm losing / I feel like I'm losing all the time.” Here, listeners can see an echo of Allison’s intention with the single in searching for hope during a time of despondency. Through the grounding agent of strong guitars to compliment Allison’s cathartic vocals, “Rings of Saturn” opens up Soccer Mommy’s next chapter while also staying true to her unique sound.
