“Evergreen” is an album that stands out not for its flashy production, but for its intelligent, heartfelt songwriting. Soccer Mommy’s sixth album has a more organic feel that returns to her singer-songwriter roots. The softer, grungier feel of the songs brings an intimate atmosphere that highlights her insightful lyrics. 

One of the things that make “Evergreen” stand out from the recent deluge of radio-friendly pop albums is that vocalist Sophia Allison has continued to stay true to herself and her style since her first album, “For Young Hearts,” in 2016.

With a short tracklist of 11 songs and just over a 40-minute runtime, the album manages to pack a lot into a little. “Lost” opens the album with a hazy vision of love. Allison wishes for a closer connection with her lover, but she can’t seem to force herself into it. She sings, “I’ve got a way / Of keeping her with me where I go / But how she feels, I’ll never know / It’s lost to me.” This thread of lingering love is picked back up again in “Thinking of You.” 

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Even while she’s with her new lover, she is stuck thinking of her old one: “How long is too long to be / Stuck in a memory? / How long is too long to be / Still thinking of you?” Songs like these reflect the truth about feelings; they change and grow and dissipate, but very rarely do they ever completely disappear all at once. 

One of the standout tracks is the second single she released off the album, “M.” Allison’s lyrics always include interesting metaphors, and in “M,” she builds off a previous theme from one of her most popular songs, “Your Dog.” She sings, “And I don’t mind talking to empty halls / ‘Cause I miss you / Like a loyal dog / Waiting by the door to hear the lock turn.” 

Allison sees the world in a novel way; lyrics like this show her ingenuity in describing a relationship that feels one-sided. She desperately wants her lover, but she’s fine waiting for them even if she can feel them hanging over her like a ghost. In the chorus, she laments, “I feel those hands around my neck / Like the truth is killing me.” 

Ben H. Allen III, who also worked with Animal Collective and Belle and Sebastian, produced the album. Those dreamy, ’90s-esque melodies are heard in songs like “Abigail,” where surprisingly enough, Allison sings about one of the romanceable characters in the indie video game “Stardew Valley.” 

Traits from the in-game character of Abigail surface in the lyrics. Allison loves her purple hair, the way she makes music alone and her penchant for nighttime graveyard visits. One would assume that a love song for a video game character would be contrived or trite. Allison manages to make it sincere and sweet. Over a melody that rises and falls like waves on the beach, Allison sings, “I see the moonlight shining on your face / And nothing’s ever felt this way.” 

The entire album is very focused and cohesive. Each song flows well into another, and Allison’s light, slightly pleading vocals fit the plaintive tone that many of the songs strike. It feels like an album perfect for a day out in the park, with the crunching of leaves all around and the heat of the sun warming the face even as the cold wind blows. 

“Dreaming of Falling” has a personal, near-confessional nature. Light guitar and percussion backing highlight the lyrics as she sings, “All I have are bits and pieces / Fading еvery day / And I can feel the memory taintеd / By the way I’ve changed.” Allison’s falling in and out of love the whole album. On one song, she reflects fondly on her feelings, and on the next, she searches for meaning in the broken pieces of her heart.

On “Anchor” and “Driver,” Allison takes a grungier approach with insistent bass, heavier percussion and a forward-pushing sound that allows her to be angrier at her lover. She complains on “Anchor” that “I don’t wanna think about the way I loved you so / I wanna be whole.” For Allison, love is an emotion that takes over your entire body and soul. 

Her entire discography is about her dealing with this; love takes so much from her. Despite it all, she still wants to love and be loved deeply. On “Driver,” even with the harsher sound, she bares herself for her lover: “He’d never leave me now / Even if he could, there’s no way out / ‘Cause I’ll be the driver through and through / I would go anywherе with you.”

The album ends with the reflective eponymous track “Evergreen.” Allison leaves the listener with an orchestrally backed song that is perfect for a long walk in the fall. She tells the listeners “There’s a chill across the wind / Frosting over rolling hills and / I can only hear her name / Evergreen.” 

The album’s rollout was in keeping with the slightly offbeat, but genuine nature of the album. It included a tab on her website that gave GPS directions to the nearest park to listen and a listening party at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater (complete with puppets!). “Evergreen” encourages the listener to be outside, be happy and be yourself. Allison has created a project that feels like it was released at the perfect time. It is sincere, intelligent and unique — an island of originality in a sea of indie carbon copies.