Album of the Week: Momentary Lapse of Happily - Adult Mom

There’s a saying that with age comes wisdom, or something like that. I’m finding that the older I get the less I believe that saying. It seems as the days pass by I understand less and less, and growing up only seems to get weirder and harder to navigate. When I listen to Momentary Lapse of Happily from Adult Mom I feel like they get this feeling. The album says and understands everything I can’t. It encompasses that sense of wandering, of finding yourself in the everyday, and most importantly that you have to be your own biggest fan, your own source of comfort and inspiration or as they sing, - “you gotta be your own 3 a.m.”

Adult Mom is the project of Steph Knipe, a musical undertaking that admittedly explores, “the darker subjects of life, the personal and explicit we are often told to keep to ourselves.” It’s a quality that’s shone through in each of the pre-album singles. There’s nothing that’s more significant than an artist willing to essentially share their every thought out loud. While my failures and anxieties are tucked away in diary pages and the recesses of my brain, Steph has brought those to the forefront, making for a listening experience that feels more a conversation among lifelong friends.

As Steph navigates, “heartache, trauma and subsequent growth,” we’re invited along. Although their acoustic pop is often faint and whimsical, leading us through periods of growing up, the outpouring of Steph’s heart leaves a roaring impression. Amidst all that they may not understand, Adult Mom comes totally into their own. As they sing on “Survival,” - “I survive because I have died.” It’s the bruising of past missteps that have led to so much more, those periods of turmoil that are just part of getting older. I may never totally understand where I’m headed or what I’m supposed to do next, but the music of Adult Mom leaves this intense impression that everything will be okay. It’s a soundtrack to find resilience in, and in turn find yourself. The short, but sweet closing track, “Lose-Recover” brings that point to the forefront with a sentiment so captivating and pure - “Yea, I lost love/love does what it does/thought I lost me/but there I was.”