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.

Their quips on "Steal the Lake From the Water" — a song written post-Trump, but which feels especially prescient post-election — appeal to empathy, but not without a fight: "And you might say I make myself into a marginal victim, a baby crying hard until I get what I want," Knipe seethes, knowingly. "But there is a friction between what I want and what I need / and it is clear that I must scream."

Instead, the band lets out a great big sigh, in the form of a single, clanging chord. They don't have time for anyone's shit, and neither should you — but you should  definitely listen to Soft Spots. Stream it in full below ahead of its release later this week via Tiny Engines, and scroll down to check out Adult Mom's tour itinerary.

Soft Spots arrives May 19 via Tiny Engines. Pre-order it here.

ADULT MOM on TOUR
May 17 — Bethlehem, PA @ Blast Furnace Room
May 18 — Ithaca, NY @ The Haunt
May 20 — Brooklyn, NY @ The Silent Barn *
May 31 — Philadelphia @ Everybody Hits
Jun. 1 — Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter
Jun. 2 — Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
Jun. 3 — Atlanta, GA @ Casa Nova
Jun. 4 — Tallahassee, FL @ Wolf’s Den
Jun. 5 — New Orleans, LA @ The Neutral Ground
Jun. 6 — Houston, TX @ Walter’s
Jun. 7 — Austin, TX @ House
Jun. 8 — Marfa, TX @ El Cosmico
Jun. 9 — Tucson, AZ @ PoMoRo
Jun. 10 — Phoenix, AZ @ Trunk Space
Jun. 11 — Pomona, CA @ VLHS
Jun. 12 — Los Angeles, CA @ Junior High
Jun. 13 — San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
Jun. 14 — Arcata, CA @ Outer Space
Jun. 15 — Portland, OR @ Port City Gallery
Jun. 16 — Olympia, WA @ New Moon Café
Jun. 17 — Tacoma, WA @ Real Arts
Jun. 18 — Seattle, WA @ Vera Project
Jun. 19 — Bellingham, WA @ Make.Shift
Jun. 21 — Missoula, MT @ Zootown Arts Community Center
Jun. 22 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
Jun. 23 — Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
Jun. 24 — Omaha, NE @ Milk Run
Jun. 25 — Iowa City, IA @ Trumpet Blossom Cafe
Jun. 26 — Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St Entry
Jun. 27 — Madison, WI @ The Mound
Jun. 28 — Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
Jun. 29 — Detroit, MI @ Trumbullplex
Jun. 30 — Columbus, OH @ Double Happiness
Jul. 1 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Roboto
Jul. 2 — Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory
Jul. 3 — Somerville, MA @ ONCE Ballroom
* w/ Free Cake for Every Creature

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