# 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.

## Composition and lyrics

Described by AllMusic as "grunge-lite," and by NME as "an account of personal pain set to warm lo-fi pop," Sophie Allison herself has described the sound on Color Theory as "the music of my childhood distressed." The album is described as simultaneously "bigger and brighter" and "grimmer". According to Pitchfork, "The songs on Color Theory sometimes feels like a series of 8-point-font text messages projected onto highway billboards." 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". The album's lyrics explore themes such as homesickness, disease, fear of loss and despair. Allison's vocal performance on the album is characterized by her "plain uninflected voice". Her vocals have been described as "melodic, but not in the least showy." The rhythmic style on Color Theory is largely built around "chugging" power chords on the guitar played with downstrokes. Additionally, Allison used floppy disk samples, drum machines, and sound effects on the album, and employed unorthodox instruments such as the Mellotron and Wurlitzer.

## Critical reception

Professional ratings :
| Aggregate scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.9/10 |
| Metacritic | 81/100 |
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Exclaim! | 9/10 |
| The Guardian | |
| The Independent | |
| Mojo | |
| NME | |
| Pitchfork | 7.8/10 |
| Q | |
| Rolling Stone | |
| The Times | |
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.
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." 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." Hannah Mylrea of NME said the album is "as beautiful as it is brave".
AllMusic wrote, "Though the songs here aren't quite as immediately infectious as Clean, its combination of deceptively warm surfaces, alluring melodies, and subtly distorted textures reward repeat listens with that sense of discovery." NME gave the album four stars out of five, calling it "deeply moving."

### Accolades

Accolades for Color Theory :
| Publication | Accolade | Rank |
| Exclaim! | Exclaim!'s 50 Best Albums of 2020 | 41 |
| Gigwise | The Gigwise 51 Best Albums of 2020 | 16 |
| The Guardian | The 50 Best Albums of 2020 | 48 |
| Paste | Paste's 25 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year | 8 |
| Paste | The 50 Best Albums of 2020 | 7 |
| Pitchfork | The 50 Best Albums of 2020 | 26 |
| Rolling Stone | The 50 Best Albums of 2020 | 37 |
| Spin | Spin's 30 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year | — |
| Stereogum | Stereogum's 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year | 6 |
| Stereogum | The 50 Best Albums of 2020 | 10 |
| Under the Radar | Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2020 | 10 |

## Track listing

All tracks are written by Sophie Allison

## Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.
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

Sales chart performance for Color Theory :
| Chart (2020) | Peak position |
| Scottish Albums (OCC) | 52 |
| US Billboard 200 | 142 |
| US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard) | 7 |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) | 22 |