UK instores coming up in September pic.twitter.com/ztx5sAJy2F

— Beth Orton (@beth_orton) August 19, 2022

Along with the instore dates, the singer shared a video for her new single “Friday Night”.  The song is the third single off her new album and follows “Forever Young” and the eponymous track “Weather Alive”.

NME reported Orton’s feeling about her new release: “Friday Night is someone reflecting on, and trying to decide, what to give up or what to surrender to. Passion or ambivalence? Whether to ‘bleed or rust in the rain’. Most of us are struggling to make sense of where to put the love we have for those that are lost to us, let alone the ones that remain. Sometimes there is no right answer except to find the wisdom in the spaces between the endings and beginnings, in the remembrance of things past or in search of lost time, there are always re-percussions to the choices we make.”

She continues: “We are listening to the internal dialogue of someone living it out, what is futile and what is worth fighting for, and trying to do as little damage along the way. Friday night being the night that makes the week more bearable, there is hope. Coming to realise what is real and what is out of reach can be unbelievably painful, waking up to the love that remains can be the greatest gift and the most wonderful surprise, Even in absence there is presence, there is no escape but to look for where the love is still alive within us.” You can watch the video below.

Her upcoming album features The Smile’s drummer Tom Skinner, Mancunian jazz star Alabaster dePlume, multi-instrumentalist/composed Shahzad Ismaily, and The Invisible’s bassist Tom Herbert. In a statement released to NME, the new record is described as “a record that collates memories and experiences spanning a lifetime, with stories that touch on struggles, on healing and of beauty.”

Orton became popular for her “folktronica” sound, which combines folk and electronica elements.  In the middle of the 1990s, she first gained attention for her work with the Chemical Brothers, Red Snapper, Andrew Weatherall, William Orbit, and others. Her 1996 debut solo album, Trailer Park, was well-received by critics in the UK and US. Weather Alive is her eighth studio album.

Along with her in-store performances, Orton will be on a headline tour of the UK through 2022. Dates are below and tickets can be purchased here.

In-store appearances:
23/09/2022 – Rough Trade East – London
25/09 – Bear Tree – Sheffield
26/09 – Assai Records – Edinburgh
28/09 – HMV – Nottingham
29/09 – Truck Store – Oxford
Headline dates:
07/10 – Academy 2 – Birmingham
08/10 – St. Bartholomew’s Church – Brighton
09/10 – KOKO – London
10/10 – Arts Centre – Norwich
12/10 – St George’s –Bristol
13/10 – Classic Grand – Glasgow
15/10 – RCMN Concert Hall – Manchester
16/10 – Brudenell Social Club – Leeds

Sometimes, Forever will act as a follow-up to 2020’s critical success that was color theory. The critical success of that album confirmed Soccer Mommy to be slightly more than the bedroom indie staple that her other albums like Clean may have led us to believe. In a conversation with NME, Soccer Mommy – this time less popularly known by her offstage name Sophie Allison – commented that ‘Bones’ was initially drafted to be a part of a rom-com. But since the song’s creation, Allison decided to keep it for herself. When questioned about the song’s meaning she explained it was basically, “about struggling with the parts of yourself that you don’t like in a relationship.” Before lightening the mood a little with, “It’s about wanting to become better for someone and feeling like you’re standing in your own way.”

presale happening now at https://t.co/zYBDTREugs use code: FOREVER

portion of proceeds from presale tickets sold via our website go to @PPFA.

can’t wait to have lightning bug, @helena_deland and @tttopsss out on the road with us for select dates.

flyer by justus proffit pic.twitter.com/7N1LPZa0Yj

— soccer mommy (@sopharela) May 19, 2022

Allison will also be taking the new tunes to a few UK in-store gigs shortly after the release of the album. Fans in Leeds, Liverpool, Brighton, and Bristol could get some of the earliest tastes of the new sounds this June before the tour kicks off in the states in October. It was also announced that the pre-sale for the rest of the tour (which unfortunately already kicked off this morning (May 19^th)) would donate a portion of its proceeds to Planned Parenthood. While the presale has already come and gone, the remainder of the tickets go on sale tomorrow morning (May 20^th) at 10am. You can try and bag yourself a few here. With additional support on the US leg from a pair of Canadian artists – Singer-songwriter Helena Deland, and indie rock outfit TOPS – the UK’s support slots are yet to be filled.

See below the full list of Soccer Mommy’s UK tour dates below:

20/6 – Crash – Leeds
21/6 – Jacaranda – Liverpool
25/6 – Resident – Brighton
26/6 – Rough Trade – Bristol (Matinee)
31/8 – Rescue Rooms – Nottingham
1/9 – Chalk – Brighton
3/9 – Trinity – Bristol
20/9 – O2 Ritz – Manchester
21/9 – Tramshed – Cardiff
22/9 – O2 Forum – London
23/9 – The Castle & Falcon – Birmingham
24/9 – Queen Margaret Union – Glasgow