Review: Soccer Mommy at Rosemount Hotel
Soccer Mommy at Rosemount Hotel
w/ Asha Jefferies, Smol Fish
Friday, June 20, 2025
Somebody put that Soccer Mommy on a drum riser!
What a strange show we had last Friday. It’s hard to be disappointed with not one, but three, incredible acts taking over a Rosemount main room that’s busy without being rammed. Tick. But it’s also weird when the headliner we’re all there to see is upstaged by the main support.
Controversial? Enter Asha Jeffries. Maybe it’s just me that’s been sleeping on this Brisbane local with ties to Ball Park Music (Sam Cromack produced her marvellous debut album, Ego Ride), but her set alongside just guitarist George Reed and an oft-lush backing track was pretty transcendental.
From the opening wash of Whatever You Like, through the self-referential Tank Tops, and an epic Cruise Control (its final refrain of “I trust my body… and it doesn’t want you around me” was particularly affecting), the set grew to incorporate electronic percussion and some emotive sounds sweeping the room.
She even brought openers Smol Fish back out on stage for a harmony-soaked take on Baby Don’t Fight It that was simply exquisite. Describing the local outfit as “WA’s best band” didn’t even seem a stretch after their opening set, which peaked on closer Conditionally, a serious note between their bubbly anecdotes (and synths) concluding triumphantly with the lyric “I still feel something.”
None of this is to take away from Soccer Mommy’s perfect-sounding set, made even more splendorous by the fab Rosie sound system. It’s just that there was something missing: Soccer Mommy.
If you’re going to perform seated, the Rosie isn’t the venue to do it. With a waist-high stage and a good crowd of people in front of it, even the tallest of us strained for a view of her throughout the night.
The likelihood is that there was a perfectly good explanation for this, and the Soccer Mommy in question, aka 28-year-old Nashville, Tennessee, wunderkind Sophia Allison, was apologetic and quick to note that the feeling was mutual. “I can’t see many of you… Sorry I’m sitting down; it’s a bit weird,” she said, echoing the sentiments of probably everyone.
It’s just that telling us why may have given the night more of an emotional core and connection. Was she sick? If so, thank you so much for not cancelling! Injured? We feel for you!
Even as favourites like Circle the Drain and Shotgun got the crowd moving early, they were largely viewed through phones held high, as it was the most likely chance of sneaking a peek.
Carefully spacing her ‘hits’ between cuts from last October’s Evergreen, Cool was a notable highlight, while a near-solo set featuring the excellent Still Clean and very pretty singalong to Lost had the potential to be the night’s most affecting section.
It’s just that, by then, the crowd had grown impatient at not being able to see Allison. The chatter down the back of the room started seeping forward, eventually being met by frustrated whispers of “Shhhh…” from those still invested (seriously, take it out to the beer garden, people).
Fortunately, she did end up standing to deliver a bit of extra energy to the final two songs. Your Dog ended the main set appropriately, given it’s still probably her signature Soccer Mommy song, while the shoegaze feels of Don’t Ask Me was a perfectly placed closer with phasers and intense production reminiscent of Slowdive.
Surrounded by a band of exceptional musos who put their playing ahead of their hairdos, it was a finely choreographed set, musically speaking. But with no one stationed behind her, one wonders why someone didn’t think to prop the night’s star up on a riser so we could actually watch her play and sing these songs we know and love.
HARVEY RAE
Photos by Linda Dunjey
