Singer-songwriter Stevie Knipe has been making music for close to a decade, since they were a college student in upstate New York recording in a dorm room. But Knipe (who uses they/their pronouns) has really taken a leap forward in terms of both sonics and songcraft with the excellent Driver. While previous Adult Mom albums had a spare, bedroom-recording feel, Driver is more of a band album, with bright production and songs that carefully and vividly map out an early-twenties travelogue full of crisis, memory, hope, and the kind of intense moments that feel almost debilitatingly hard-hitting at that age — even if you’re just starting to become wise enough to know they’re ephemeral.
Adult Mom will release their third studio album “Driver” on March 5th via Epitaph Records. In celebration of the announcement, they have shared the new single “Sober.” The track examines how people’s perceptions of each other change and deteriorate over time, especially in the wake of a relationship gone sour. Stevie Knipe’s Adult Mom is back, unveiling their first new record since parting ways with now-defunct label Tiny Engines. The details of Driver arrived in January alongside “Sober,” only the indie-pop project’s second new song since their 2017 sophomore album Soft Spots. Knipe co-produced Driver alongside Kyle Pulley (Shamir, Diet Cig, Kississippi), also collaborating with Olivia Battell and Allegra Eidinger on its 10 tracks.
On “Driver”, co-produced by Stevie Knipe and Kyle Pulley (Shamir, Diet Cig, Kississippi), Knipe delves into the emotional space just beyond a coming-of-age, where the bills start to pile up and memories of college dorms are closer than those of high school parking lots. Ultimately seeking the answer to the age-old question posed by every twenty-something; what now?, the song is called “Breathing.” It’s about being in isolation back in 2018, depressed and lonely, which is kind of 2 relevant for right now.
Adult Mom’s 2015 debut Momentary Lapse of Happily, as well as five EPs they released between 2012 and 2014. Driver is their first full-length release on a label other than Tiny Engines, which collapsed after Adult Mom and a slew of other signees accused them of withholding payments and various other acts of mismanagement. It’s a new day for Adult Mom, and they’re in the Driver’s seat.
Over the course of the 10 tracks, Knipe sets out to soundtrack the queer rom-com they’ve been dreaming of since 2015. Driver incorporates an expert weaving of sonic textures ranging from synths and shakers to ‘00s-inspired guitar tones which convey a loving attention to detail. Lyrically, Knipe radiates an unmistakable honesty mixed with a level of wit and a sense of humour producing intimate yet relatable indie pop songs.
“Checking Up” by Adult Mom from the album ‘Driver’, available March 5th Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records is an artist-first indie label founded in Los Angeles by Bad Religion guitarist, Brett Gurewitz. Early releases from a variety of punk heavyweights helped launch the 90s punk explosion. Along the way, Epitaph has grown and evolved creatively while sticking to its mission of helping real artists make great recordings on their own terms.
Stevie Knipe’s Adult Mom is back, unveiling their first new record since parting ways with now-defunct label Tiny Engines. Fittingly, “Sober” trains its focus on the aftermath of a broken relationship’s dissolution, with Knipe’s narrator moving on from someone they no longer love. Keys and a drum machine beat set the tone while Knipe assesses the situation with unflinching honesty and humour: “The only thing that I’ve done / This month is drink beer and / Masturbate, and ignore / Phone calls from you / What else am I supposed to do?” Propulsive pop-rock guitars push the song along until Knipe finally concludes, “Now I don’t even think of you / When I am sober.”
Adult Mom have been incorporating sonic textures and 00’s inspired guitar tones, as well as Stevie Knipe’s lyrical wit, honesty and humour into the indie pop songs that make up the 10 tracks featured on their new album Driver. Originally Adult Mom began as Stevie Knipe’s solo project, this project is now a collaborative effort working with friends and fellow musicians Olivia Battell and Allegra Eidinger.
Adult Mom have created the reputation of a band that “writes clever and intimate indie pop songs that offer a glimpse into the journey of a gender-weird queer navigating through heartache, trauma and subsequent growth.” Since the band formed in 2012, Adult Mom have released a total five EPs and two full length albums, Momentary Lapse of Happily and Soft Spots,
Meanwhile, the “Sober” The record will arrive on 5th March via Epitaph, preceded by new single ‘Sober’, a track which examines how people’s perception of each other changes and deteriorates over time. The video—directed and animated by Maddie Brewer, with additional animation from Noah Gallagher—comprises quietly vivid images of someone putting painful memories (and booze) behind them, moving forward on a journey of self-discovery that slowly but surely turns into something quite surreal.
Co-produced by main member Stevie Knipe (pictured) and Thin Lips’ Kyle Pulley, ‘Driver’ will arrive on March 5th via Epitaph
Adult Mom will release their third studio album “Driver” on March 5 via Epitaph Recordings. In celebration of the announcement, they have shared the new single “Sober.” The track examines how people’s perceptions of each other change and deteriorate over time, especially in the wake of a relationship gone sour.
On Driver, co-produced by Stevie Knipe and Kyle Pulley (Shamir, Diet Cig, Kississippi), Knipe delves into the emotional space just beyond a coming-of-age, where the bills start to pile up and memories of college dorms are closer than those of high school parking lots. Ultimately seeking the answer to the age-old question posed by every twenty-something; what now?
Over the course of 10 tracks, Knipe sets out to soundtrack the queer rom-com they’ve been dreaming of since 2015. Driver incorporates an expert weaving of sonic textures ranging from synths and shakers to ’00s-inspired guitar tones which convey a loving attention to detail. Lyrically, Knipe radiates an unmistakable honesty mixed with a level of wit and a sense of humour producing intimate yet relatable indie pop songs.
Adult Mom began as the solo project of Stevie Knipe at Purchase College. Adult Mom now falls between the playful spectrum of solo project and collaborative band with beloved friends and musicians Olivia Battell and Allegra Eidinger. Since forming in 2012, Adult Mom has released five EPs and two full-length albums; Momentary Lapse of Happily (2015), and Soft Spots (2017). Knipe writes clever and intimate indie pop songs that offer a glimpse into the journey of a gender-weird queer navigating through heartache, trauma and subsequent growth.
Rhythm Guitar, Keys, Vocals, and Songwriting by Stevie Knipe Drums and Percussion by Olivia Battell Lead Guitar by Allegra Eidinger Bass by Kyle Pulley
No Bad Words For The Coast Today: The Execution Of All Things Covers Comp is a compilation featuring 14 artists, celebrating the band Rilo Kiley and their seminal 2002 album release. From now until November 6th, 100% of proceeds from Bandcamp (pre-order/digital downloads) will be donated to G.L.I.T.S., a New York City-based non-profit organization dedicated to supporting transgender people, offering asylum and urgent care for community members. After that date, 50% of the proceeds will go to the artists and the other 50% will go to G.L.I.T.S.
Mannequin Pussy shared a new cover of Rilo Kiley’s “The Execution Of All Things,” with the band giving a darker rock spin on the classic title track. It’s the latest glimpse from the forthcoming Rilo Kiley covers compilation, No Bad Words For The Coast Today: The Execution Of All Things Covers Comp. Previously, Sad13 had shared a cover of “Paint’s Peeling” for the compilation’s first single. Other artists who appear on the compilation include Diet Cig, Adult Mom, Lisa Prank and many more.
Mannequin Pussy’s Marisa Dabice said of their cover: Rilo Kiley is the band where I can confidently say that they are simultaneously one of my favourites but they also give me musical amnesia. By that, I mean I can obsessively listen to their discography for months because then I remember how much I love them, it’s like discovering them again for the first time, that sense of wonder for the songs never goes away – no matter how many times I’ve gone through their albums. I’m awestruck by Jenny’s gift for prose and poetry and her expressive voice, Blake’s tremendous capacity to create “noodly” riffs that never sound cheesy but that always perfectly complement and elevate every song. Listening to this band you can sense the collaboration. Collaboration between talented people can create magic and that’s what they are to me – musical magic.
“No Bad Words For The Coast Today: The Execution Of All Things Covers Comp”
Adult Mom’s most recent album was 2017’s Soft Spots, and they’ve spent the last couple years covering some good songs — by Green Day, the Swell Season, Laura Stevenson, and Taylor Swift and extricating themselves from a sticky label situation. Today, the Stevie Knipe-led group is releasing a new original song, “Berlin,” ahead of their imminent tour with Palehound. “Berlin” is all warm tones and ruminative memories. “Sit in the car parked in the dark/ Hearing rain drop on the roof,” Knipe sings in the chorus, their voice echoing as the song clicks into place.
“‘Berlin’ is a song that took over a year to write. It’s about processing the loss of an important friendship without knowing the exact cause of the loss,” Knipe said of the track. “Through loss, there are moments recalled, like meeting for the first time, the moment you got close with that person, singing Hole in dorm rooms, drinking beer in a bathroom, and of course, the complete paralyzation that comes with loss. It’s about being in between healed and not, and trying my best to calculate the reasons why she left.’
The Band:
Rhythm Guitar, Keys, Vocals, and Songwriting by Stevie Knipe Drums and Percussion by Olivia Battell Lead Guitar by Allegra Eidinger Bass by Kyle Pulley
This album has a way of digging deep inside the listener, hooking on to emotions saved only for the most solemn or ethereal experiences. Adult Mom is real life magic and this album is proof of that.
its cute and simple and very pleasing, Stephanie Knipe brought totally loving love songs and truly hateful hate songs, like a home-made lo-fi cassette version of the SZA album. Adult Mom shows off the acerbic wit that turned heads on tapes like Sometimes Bad Happens and Momentary Lapse of Happily. Nine songs in 26 minutes, peaking with “Same,” where Knipe strums a hate letter to somebody barely even worth the time it took to write the song.
Released in celebration of the one year anniversary of Adult Mom’s critically acclaimed sophomore LP, Soft Spots, these 9 demo tracks are stripped down and straightforward, yet equally as moving and powerful as the fully orchestrated songs they would eventually become. Intimate, deeply personal and without pretense, Soft Spots(Demos) showcases what Adult Mom’s Stephanie Knipe can do with their voice, a guitar and an iPhone.
Steph Knipe asks a lot of questions on Soft Spots, the new album from Adult Mom , their bedroom project-turned-indie band. Some have to do with sex (“Do you full-screen your porn? / Do you think about me as you watch her crawl across the floor?”), others with validation (“If I am good — if I am REALLY fucking good — will you validate me?”). All of them gesture towards the album’s overarching, frequently autobiographical narrative: a quest for queer truth, self-acceptance and love, a war waged against gender dysphoria and lingering trauma.
Percolated through Knipe’s velvety alto and the band’s sunny, emo-pop palette, the aforementioned queries blossom from a highly personal dialogue into a comforting, contemplative conversation, the artist’s pain acting as a vessel for our own, regardless of gender identity. After all, the emotional hazards dotting the long, bruising path to adulthood don’t discriminate. Pain unites us all, especially in today’s uncertain times.
Adult Mom “Soft Spots” LP/CD/Cassette/Digital out 5/19/17 on Tiny Engines Records
The Fat Angel Sings 