Album Review: Pool Kids - Pool Kids
Release Date: July 22, 2022
Runtime: 46min 35 sec
Rating: 93/100
High Tracks: That's Physics, Baby, Talk Too Much, I Hope You're Right, Swallow, Arm's Length
Low Tracks: Waking Up
The self-titled sophomore release from Pool Kids comes in the form of a glittery catharsis, delivering everything you could want from a Midwest emo/math rock record. Earworm guitar riffs, gently (and sometimes harshly) strained vocals, and emotionally relatable lyrics combine to tell the tale of an ending relationship and every feeling involved in the aftermath. These feelings - denial, spite, apathy, and ultimately acceptance - are laid over lofty rhythms and energetic breakdowns to form a masterpiece of the genre from front to back.
Pool Kids started as the duo of Christine Goodwyne (vocals/guitar) and Caden Clinton (drums). The pair's 2018 debut album, Music to Practice Safe Sex To, received recognition from pop-punk icon Hayley Williams, stating it's what Paramore "WISHED we sounded like in the early 2000s." Now, four years later and with the additions of Andy Anaya (guitar) and Nicolette Alvarez (bass), the group presents an even more polished sound on Pool Kids.
The album's lead-off track "Conscious Uncoupling," certainly sets the tone for the album. It begins with a heartbeat-like pulse and angst-filled lyrics, showcasing how tiring even the smallest of issues can be in a failing relationship. Guitar rhythms, drums, and vocal tensions rise and rise until finally spilling over with the lines:
Get out of my house
We've got nothing left to talk about
And I'm not acting out of spite
You just couldn't play your cards right
Goodwyne denies feeling spite in this first track, but backpedals in later songs "Talk Too Much" and "Comes In Waves," admitting to being so full of spite "It's eating me alive/It's rotting my insides."
The next two songs "That's Physics, Baby" and "Almost Always Better (Almost Always Worse)" blur the lines between Midwest emo and math rock genres. They're chock full of offbeat rhythms, arpeggiated phrases, looping melodies, shifting time signatures, and take turns having drums, guitars, or vocals in the driver's seat. In short, they're just really fun songs that deserve plenty of headbanging and air guitar from the listener.
The song "Talk Too Much" forms a hate letter of sarcastic insults with small moments of self-realization peeking through. The lines "Oh, I'll bet you're fun at parties/Bet you're the last one to leave," are followed only a few verses later with "I guess that means you win/You're underneath my skin." Musically, this track takes on a more classic punk-pop style with a 4/4 time signature, tight-knit riffs, and a nice cathartic breakdown before ending on a gentle, somber note. The following songs "Comes In Waves" and "I Hope You're Right," continue with a bit more gentleness and focus on the narrative with incredible emotional vulnerability.
"Swallow" quickly moves into a more stylistically diverse song. A driving bass line holds the fort while twinkly guitars pop in and out between the vocals, providing an opportunity for breakdowns and high-energy passages among verses. The ending and outro of this track introduce a fun vocal distortion that enhances both emotion and energy. This final outburst gives a sense of exhaustion for both artist and listener, followed by an apt transition into "Couch," a song about feeling tired and completely over everything.
Moving on to the last two tracks of the album, "Arm's Length" and "Pathetic," the tone shifts to pure apathy and finally acceptance. While the lyrical content of "Arm's Length" consists of a poetic yet disinterested rant, the music is a reminder of this group's punchy capabilities. The drums are relentless and the guitars tastefully beg for attention, all while Goodwyne shouts an anxiety-fueled chorus:
I don't think I wanna waste my day
Replaying all my past mistakes
It's a funny thing
Selective memory
Flipping through the casualties
And finally, after eleven songs of flip-flopping feelings and spiteful serenades, comes the somber acceptance:
You're afraid of it
I'm afraid of it too
Better off without me and mе without you
This delivery triggers one final cleansing release of energy, noise, and passion. The closing minute has each band member fighting for the spotlight, pouring everything they've got into a collective wall of sound before fading out and leaving the question, "What can we make of this?"
Fun fact: In "Arm's Length," one line mentions moving "Two hundred miles west this time." Assuming Goodwyne wrote this from her current location of Chicago, IL, this places the new location right around Cedar Rapids, IA. If from the group's original location of Tallahassee, FL, it would be near Pensacola, FL, just east of the AL/FL border.