Chopper

by Kiwi Jr.

Overview

The first two albums from Toronto's Kiwi Jr. were perfect capsules of indie rock, with the laissez-faire delivery of Pavement in their prime, the collegiate jangle of the Feelies, and an abundance of hooks tying the songs together. Third album Chopper switches things up somewhat with a newfound emphasis on synths and cleaner production, but the band's surreal lyrics and smart melodic style still steal the show. Wolf Parade's Dan Boeckner was brought in to help with production, marking both Boeckner's first official work as a producer and Kiwi Jr.'s first time not handling the production themselves. The additional input results in more defined sounds across the board, and the new electronic element pops out immediately in the synth leads that drive energetic opener "Unspeakable Things" and with the harpsichord-like sounds that fill out the choruses of "The Sound of Music." Where influences like Pavement or Jonathan Richman were easy to spot on the first two albums, the more restrained tempos and dusty neon synth tones of songs like "The Extra Sees the Film" make more apparent how much Kiwi Jr. borrow from the Strokes. Deeper still, "Night Vision" sounds informed not so much by '80s synth pop as it does the Strokes in their synth pop-leaning Angles era. The laser-beam guitar leads on "Kennedy Curse" and reverb-swaddled drum machine of "Contact Killers" are new sounds for Kiwi Jr., but vocalist Jeremy Gaudet's lyrics remain a patchwork of bizarre imagery, disillusioned characters, and niche cultural references set against landscapes of urban sprawl. The ten tracks that make up Chopper are a new chapter of the band's sound, but if the arrangements were stripped down and the recording was far shabbier, this batch of songs would still represent forward movement in the group's evolution. As it stands, Chopper's ear-candy synths and vivid production simply add new layers of intrigue to Kiwi Jr.'s unshakable foundation of consistently strong (and pervasively catchy) indie rock songwriting. ~ Fred Thomas

Product Details

Release Date:	08/12/2022
Label:	Sub Pop
UPC:	0098787150049

Tracks

1. Unspeakable Things
2. Parasite II
3. Clerical Sleep
4. Night Vision
5. The Extra Sees the Film
6. Contract Killers
7. The Sound of Music
8. Downtown Area Blues
9. Kennedy Curse
10. The Masked Singer

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Kiwi Jr.   Primary Artist
Robbie Grunwald   Accordion
Dan Boeckner   Vocals,Synthesizer,Drum Machine
Alex Gamble   Synthesizer
Dorothea Paas   Vocals

Technical Credits

Tim Kielman   Photography
Brian Murphy   Composer,Group Member
David Newgarden   Management
Dan Boeckner   Mixing,Producer
Michael Walker   Composer
Mike Walker   Group Member
Brohan Moore   Group Member
Benjamin Shapiro   Assistant Engineer
Alex Gamble   Mixing,Engineer
Bridget Beorse   Design
Darren McGill   Assistant Engineer
Brohan Francis Moore   Composer
Michael Philip Walker   Composer
Marie Dauer   Artwork
Jeremy Gaudet   Composer,Group Member