Trophy Dad are a Madison, WI-based four-piece that have one EP, 2015’s Shirtless Algebra Fridays, to their name so far, and they’re gearing up to release another one, Dogman, next month. Their new single, “Addison,” was originally included on a split last year, but it gets an upgrade for the new EP. At a sprightly six minutes, it takes some delightfully theatrical turns as Abby Sherman (with a persistent backing vocal from Jordan Zamansky) details an unhealthy relationship that’s nevertheless symbiotic in how isolating and comforting it feels. “In my head we are online shopping/ Can’t validate you anymore, so that’s why we’re stopping,” she sings. “‘Cus I can’t be your man anymore” goes the hook, a sly inversion on the traditional narrative from a band whose own name comes from a play on the status quo. The song only builds from there, with the co-vocalists trading off on twisted declarations of misguided devotion: “I’m your skinny, hungry fetish/ I’m your sexualized depression/ I am wrapped in your skin/ Won’t you gouge out my eyes with your thumbs?/ Let’s stay in.” Here’s what Sherman had to say about the track to The Fader:

Addison’ is an older song, one that we’ve been working on as a band since fall 2015. I wrote it while deliberating over how to say goodbye to people who have had a sort of toxic influence in your life, while also realizing that you don’t necessarily want to leave these people, and that you’re definitely not without fault. It’s also about attempting to cope, often using not-so-healthy methods, with increasingly unmanageable anxiety: the type of anxiety that narrows your vision and guides your thoughts into nonsensical spirals.

Listen to “Addison” and another song from the EP, “Louis Sachar,” below.

Tour Dates:
05/10 Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon
05/11 Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen
05/12 Bloomington, IN @ TBA
05/13 Cincinnati, OH @ Northside Yacht Club
05/15 Asheville, NC @ The Mothlight
05/16 Washington, DC @ Bathtub Republic
05/17 Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA
05/18 Brooklyn, NY @ Alphaville
05/19 Cambridge, MA @ The Lilypad (early show)
05/19 Boston, MA @ Make Out Point
05/22 Detroit, MI @ TBA

The Dogman EP is out 5/5 via Sad Cactus Records.