Kiwi Jr.'s 'Blowin' Up' Is Jangle-Pop With Something on Its Mind
The Sonic Breakdown
Ten tracks in, Blowin’ Up makes the case that Kiwi Jr. have found the version of their sound they were always circling: jangly guitars, nineties-tinged feedback, and mid-song tempo shifts that keep even the catchiest songs from ever feeling predictable. It’s classic indie-rock songcraft that trusts its own detail work.
The Production & Mix
The Low-End: Bassist Mike Walker gets a real showcase on “Stage Names,” working in a rock-‘n’-roll-inspired walking line that turns the low end into one of the record’s most quietly fun elements rather than just holding down the bottom.
The Spatial Dynamics: Zany, needling keyboard lines run through nearly every track like a second vocalist, filling the space around Gaudet’s guitar work without ever crowding it — by the time “Landscape With Limousine” closes things out with an electro-textured assist from Protomartyr, the record has earned the left turn.
Standout Performance
Frontman Jeremy Gaudet is doing career-best work here, and “Pure Michigan” is the clearest showcase — clever-yet-slightly-rambling lyrics delivered with the same dry, run-on cadence that draws easy Stephen Malkmus comparisons, except Gaudet’s specific enough (a couple of clowns, a very particular kind of caught-in-the-wild introspection) that it never reads as imitation.
Why It’s Certified
The title track sets the tone early — quirky lyrics riding an upbeat charge that doesn’t let up — and the rest of Blowin’ Up mostly follows that lead: hooky, textured, and smarter than it needs to be to work. Kiwi Jr. aren’t reinventing jangle-pop, they’re just proving how much room is still left inside it. Certified great.