OFM New Music: March 2021
Adult Mom
Driver, Releases March 5, 2021
The new, 10-track release, and third, full, studio LP, Driver is everything you want out of a young person’s rom-com soundtrack, if the queer kids finally got to write the script. The indie-rock outfit Adult Mom, led by genderqueer singer-songwriter Stevie Knipe, delivers a new kind of narrative for the coming-of-age story.
Adult Mom is newly signed with label Epitaph Records, dumping their former representation, and their new music is a reflection of that newfound liberty via sonic exploration. Responding to the tingle of freedom, wanderlust, and rebellion, Driver arrives in time as an anthem to the primed and restless youth of 2021. Falling in and out of love is part of the human experience for many, wading through the mud of self-deprecation and self-actualization.
The album opens with the pining love song “Passenger,” with emotion and vulnerability drawing us into the clutch of Knipe’s next line. The driving, guitar-centric tracks “Wisconsin,” “Breathing,” and “Adam” break up the crooners that Adult Mom lusciously delivers. Serving up a Cranberries, yodel vibe, “Dancing” brings me back to the 00s, driving my beat-up Corolla on the way to a brutal breakup with my first girlfriend.
The vibes coming off the lead single“Sober” feels like an icy breeze of reality, an anthem of that moment of do-or-die in a relationship, and you finally realize that you’re better off without that lover who was dragging you down. Slipping into the bedroom-pop, country essence of “Regret It,” the unyielding tempo paired with astute perception will keep you holding on until the album clincher, “Frost.”
In these tracks, Knipe shares moments of raw reflection, opening the door to their own inner-thoughts that are relateable, authentic, and overwhelmingly sensible. This album is not for the faint of feeling; get ready to buckle up with Driver and get deep in those emotions.
Rob Zombie
The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy, Releases March 12, 2021
The brilliant creative has taken his time, with five years passing since the release of his last album, and the wait was worth it. Delivering a heavy dose of hardcore rock and high-energy ragers, cocoon yourself in the darkness and lose yourself in a world constructed by the iconic Zombie. Pay special attention to banger “The Eternal Struggles of the Howling Man” and the intricately executed “What You Gonna Do with That Gun Mama.”
Alex Somers
Siblings + Siblings 2, Releases March 19, 2021
he multi-disciplinary artist has ventured into a poetic double-header that features lush, hypnotic sonnets that resonate symphonic. With an obsession for found objects, Somers writes as though these are beautiful offerings to the weathered machines and imperfect elements. Striving to embody the detailed delivery of a life through melody, the albums have come to fruition after nearly seven years of construction, finally allowing the tracks to emerge from hiding.
Valeree
It’s Fine, I’m Fine, Releases March 19, 2021
The retro-pop, independent artist Megan Mortensen, aka Valeree, is taking a plunge into the R&B soundscape with the upcoming EP It’s Fine, I’m Fine. Bringing forward a hopeful message, the once-down-and-out artist brings an honest illustration of perseverance and passion. With a round, resonating vocal hook reminiscent of Sara Bareilles, the introspective, new music brings refreshing life to the singer-songwriter genre.
dodie
Build A Problem, Releases March 26, 2021
A tale of the introvert, dodie takes some time exploring the problematic push of expectation and assumption. Musically ambitious and wondrously complex, the new record is a peek into the diary of the artist who describes the new music as an unstable exploration of figuring out who she is in music. Dreamily intimate and superbly flighty, dodie lifts with her angelic and delightful soprano while reaching deep into the depths of her insecurities with Build a Problem.
Evanescence
The Bitter Truth, Releases March 26, 2021
Amy Lee reemerges after a decade with her symphonic-goth-rock outfit Evanescence, and we are here for it. The quintessential tracks have matured into ones of social protest and self-respect, while still tapping into the ethereal echoes paired with biting, cynical lyricism that we know and love. Dramatic, vibrant, piercing, theatrical, ghostly, and orchestral rock: all the the things we want from the massive and operatic powerhouse that is Evanescence.
Xiu Xiu
Oh No, Releases March 26, 2021
Personal tragedy births life into the latest release from Xiu Xiu, one that speaks of abandonment, dissolution, and new-found faith. Vanishing into darkness, singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart has emerged with an awakening that bridges the gap of familiar intimacy and vulnerable experimentalism. From standout duets with Sharon Van Etten, George Lewis Jr. with Twin Shadow, and Chelsea Wolfe, the new tracks provide haunting textures, crunchy vocals, and pulsing beats.
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