Adult Mom is one Steph Knipe. I cannot, however, find details of the children that she is "mom" for anywhere. That is odd. Heck, my Facebook feed is 30% pics of other peoples kids anymore...
Ms. Knipe has a clear pronunciation to her vocals with the occasional quirky overemphasis of syllables, and a slipperiness to some sounds. It's an odd vocal style and i associate it with folk music. Think early Suzanne Vega, Dawn Landes, Laura Viers, or Thao Nguyen. If you know what i am talking about, you probably already have an opinion of that style, so judge accordingly. I can take it in small doses -- and this album is about half an hour long, which is perfect.
For Momentary Lapse of Happily Ms. Knipe is joined by a band. Or maybe Adult Mom is a band -- it's not clear. But the band plays mid-tempoed pop with a fair bit of jangle to it. This music bounces along happily.
The record starts with Be Your Own 3am, in which Ms. Knipe sings sleepily about being tired before the band kicks in. Survival really reminds me of Landes or Viers. This is poppy female-fronted folk music. I love the organ that bubbles along as the song bounces happily along.
The drummer stands out on 2012, where the beat makes a strong counterpoint to her vocals. Told Ya So is similar to Survival, only it sounds more like a standard keyboard than an organ in the background.
Sorry I Was Sorry is a sadder, slower song. The guitars jangle moodily and Knipe kind of mopes her vocals. It's nicely done. Sun Theory is quieter, just her and an acoustic guitar, reminding me slightly of Steffaloo.
What's Another Lipstick Mark jangles mightily the drums swinging along. Sincerely Yours, Truly is another pop folker like Survival, Knipe's voice stretching the notes of the words as music happily chimes behind her.
The very title of Laying On My Floor implies the Morrissey-ness of the song, but i think that Adult Mom do a good job with this kind of thing. Fortunately, they never stay too morose as Meg Ryan is another poppy tune that crunches nicely in the middle.
Wake starts off like Sorry I Was Sorry, with just an electric guitar chiming under her voice. But then the band kicks in and this moves along nicely. It's a close call, but this might be the catchiest song on the record.
The organ sound take the lead on When You Are Happy stepping out and warbling along with her voice.
And finally the record ends with Lose-Recover a lo-fi tune made out of scratchy guitar, her voice, and a tinkling piano. A mellow end to the record.
Overall, i find that what Ms. Knipe and her band are doing is pretty fun. This is a mid-tempoed pop album with catchy songs and quirky vocals. Not bad at all. |
