If I were to compile a list of heavenly pop hits (not necessarily 'hits' but mostly 'pop' and definitely 'heavenly'), it would feature The Chills' eponymous classic, The Stone Poney's version of "Different Drum", Comet Gain's "One More Summer Before I Go", R.E.M.'s "Fall On Me", The Move's "Useless Information", a hundred other songs and... it would feature "Maid Marian's Toast" by Kiwi Jr. In fact, "Maid Marian's Toast" would make it on the middle eight alone. The fact that the rest of the song is infectious jangle-pop perfection, from the opening verse to the distorted fade-out, only makes it unfair on the competition.
Perhaps the best thing about Cooler Returns, Kiwi Jr.'s sophomore release, is that you have no idea where each one of these songs will go. Listening to this album is not unlike listening to a Sparks record from the 70s. The barrage of vocal and instrumental hooks is upon you, and the melody might fly in any direction at any given moment throughout the song. It is unpredictable and yet, equally, it is strangely comforting - because they are taking you exactly where you want to go.
There is power pop without nuance (Jeff Rosenstock) and there is jangle-pop without substance (Barenaked Ladies). Kiwi Jr. do neither. These songs are intricately constructed (there is a melodic maze to every song welcoming you to get lost - which you do, happily) and these songs have meat. "Maid Marian's Toast" may be perfect but it is just one tune out of thirteen. "Tyler" is criminally catchy without compromising on intelligence. "Omaha" has the kind of bridge that brings you back to those teenage summers of blissful haze. "Waiting In Line" is just the soaring anthemic closer that the album deserves.
You could of course taunt these clever Canadians for calling themselves Kiwi Jr. and studying the music of the New Zealand record label Flying Nun a bit too assiduously (Garageland's "Fingerpops"... add it to my heavenly pop list) - but the truth is... none of it matters. Because this is 2021 and in 2021 nobody cares about your influences. All that matters is the song, and these should stand proudly alongside The Clean and The Verlaines. Lyrically, they are full of witty lines (the Ella Fitzgerald one is my favourite) and instrumentally, too, there are plenty of neat touches: the slide guitar in "Only Here For A Haircut", the harmonica in "Maid's Marian's Toast".
Their debut, Football Money, may have been good (and it was good - "Swimming Pool" was my song of 2019), but Cooler Returns is even better. It has the effortless combination of maturity and irreverence that should scare humourless people and point to a bright future that is so clearly ahead of them.
RECOMMENDED THIS MONTH:
Kiwi Jr. - Cooler Returns
Viagra Boys - Welfare Jazz
