EP REVIEW: Bloom – Kid Dad
Germany’s KID DAD are a band on the rise. Last year’s debut album In A Box was packed full of anthemic indie rock tracks that get lost in the hazy days of youth and having no worries in the world. Now, a year later, they’re gearing up to drop their first project since that album with a brand new EP entitled Bloom. It’s an EP that signifies evolution, maturity and getting big subject matters off their chest.
Starting off with a song that oozes sweet art-pop tones and easy listening indie vibes, opener Apartment marks the start of something sonically different for KID DAD. Departing from their early punchy post-hardcore choruses at times, Apartment bursts full of indie-pop sunshine, with comforting instrumentals and soothing vocal melodies washing over you like warm tropical waves. However, the lyrics take a darker undertone, the chorus declaring “this is the worst I’ve ever felt”, and you can’t help but think that beyond the warm fuzzy surface there is something urgent that KID DAD want you to hear.
As Soon As America is another example of this. It takes a political approach to its lyrics, a far cry from the band’s usual songs and lyrics that largely deal with everyday relatable emotions. Taking in topics like political constructs, suffering and inhumanity, As Soon As America almost takes on a political punk rock ethos, the band voicing their globally relevant concerns surrounding the ever present injustices including racism and police brutality, even if the sound doesn’t particularly match to that style. This is a mature step up for a song that speaks out on important issues, swapping out the band’s previously timid whispers about individual feelings for finding the megaphone and shouting loudly about issues that demand to be heard on a worldwide scale.
Up until this point, the tracks on Bloom have fallen dramatically short in terms of lacking a little power and simply not packing a punch, but next track Wire And Guns stops you mid thought and wipes any self doubt about the sonic memorability of this body of work. Bulldozing in with a massive rock sized chorus that knocks you for six, the band are back to their roots of booming brute guitars, pounding drums and crackling emotions, releasing their pent up fears and worries in explosive style.
One of the first songs to come out of the Bloom recording process, Boat travels down darker pop territory for KID DAD. It boasts gradually flowing guitars that are totally alluring and able to capture the attention with their entrancing quality. This track is a grower in terms of its energy levels, starting off at soothing levels before reaching soaring new heights by the time it peaks in the midway chorus, before plummeting back down to earth for an outro that mirrors its quant intro. Closer Hello? on the other hand plods along at the same steady, subdued and gliding pace throughout. Gentle blips, swinging guitars and slow walking drums create this blanket of darkness that the track’s atmosphere emits, one that is maybe a little hard to shrug after the EP finishes.
Bloom sees KID DAD enter completely new territory. Climbing out of their slew of upbeat indie rock anthems for something a little more synth-pop and subdued for the present, upbeat moments remain in the minority and cool melodic dark pop sounds are in the majority. It’s the sound of KID DAD truly coming into their own and if you like the sombre atmospheres of music, this EP is for you.
Rating: 7/10
Bloom is set for release on December 10th via Long Branch Records.
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