Ultimately, these guys just have a penchant for stringing together melodies and chord progressions and middle eights that make your want to dance about singing the silly words as your heart sores a bit as you prance about your kitchen waiting for the banana bread to rise.
You’ll end up dizzied by the sheer amount of hooks that take up every second of Cooler Returns.
The sophomore semester moves with a little more intention and nuance than the freshman year did, but the year-end celebration is no less of a blast.
If ‘Football Money’ was a full-hearted paean to the likes of Pavement and Archers of Loaf, then ‘Cooler Returns’ is the sound of Kiwi Jr moving forwards, planting their own flag in the power-pop ground.
Packed full of infectious riffs and jangle pop goodness, they manage to finesse the breezy indie-rock of their debut without losing any of their ramshackle charm.
Golden hooks appear once and are never repeated, arrangements avoid predictable verse-chorus structures, and lyric sheets are packed with hyper-specific references and quirky non sequiturs.
‘Cooler Returns’ displays a keen eye for observation – both grand and quaint – as its myriad of tracks cohere together through a bond of musical influences old and new to form an album that’s invitingly optimistic, while also displaying intricacy and craftiness in abundance.
The Toronto band’s accomplished second album stands out from the usual run of DIY indie.
Sustaining momentum near-faultlessly across 13 songs and 37 minutes, Cooler Returns proves Kiwi Jr have the skills to match their smarts.
Flourishes of organ, piano and harmonica fill out their sound, but those jangly guitars have lost none of their ramshackle charm.
On their second album and first for Sub Pop, the Canadian indie rock group pairs shaggy guitars with sardonic observations.
My worry is that in the long run they may become a one trick pony and if Kiwi Jr. continue to cling too close to Football Money, their appeal will begin to wilt and they will find themselves alone and dejected, like an now overweight jock in the basement clinging to their memories and a now tarnished high school trophy.
Cooler Returns plays out best if you go with its flow. Musical flourishes, references, and inspirations abound, but if you let yourself get lost in it, there is a lot to enjoy and not too much to worry about.
This second round of easy-going quasi-punk doesn’t reach the highs of Football Money, but it does show a dedicated band churning out steadfast rock.
There are certainly some interesting tracks on this follow-up record, but unfortunately, the cohesiveness isn't there; be it within each song's structure, or across the whole record's thematic grounding, there's never enough put into a singular idea to really make an impact.
FAVORITE TRACK: Only Here for a Haircut
LEAST FAVORITE TRACK: Cooler Returns
Kiwi Jr.'s first album, Football Money, was a bit of a letdown for me. There was some tracks and aspects I loved about their sound but their messy punk sound fell short on a majority of the album. With a second album, I hoped Kiwi Jr. would be able to develop a more mature, tuned sound but still keep in touch with the whiny indie rock they carried on Football Money.
Cooler Returns is so mediocre and way too ... read more
Don't understand some of the hate from user scores. This is a clever band with a good Strokes-y sound that is a delight to listen to. It's alternatively silly and clever. And it's catchy as hell. Dive in.
Tyler 63
Undecided Voters 67
Maid Marian's Toast 67
Highlights Of 100 58
Only Here For A Haircut 60
Cooler Returns 70
Guilty Party 60
Omaha 55
Domino 59
Nashville Wedding 62
Dodger 55
Norma Jean's Jacket 55
Waiting In Line 50
1 | Tyler 2:05 | 78 |
2 | Undecided Voters 2:29 | 77 |
3 | Maid Marian's Toast 2:23 | 77 |
4 | Highlights Of 100 2:38 | 82 |
5 | Only Here for a Haircut 3:08 | 76 |
6 | Cooler Returns 3:53 | 76 |
7 | Guilty Party 2:17 | 78 |
8 | Omaha 2:34 | 73 |
9 | Domino 2:11 | 77 |
10 | Nashville Wedding 3:14 | 80 |
11 | Dodger 2:36 | 76 |
12 | Norma Jean's Jacket 3:10 | 72 |
13 | Waiting in Line 3:29 | 80 |
#13 | / | No Ripcord |
#17 | / | God Is In The TV |
#54 | / | Louder Than War |
#86 | / | Under the Radar |