“Cooler Returns,” the just released album from Kiwi JR, materialises as a sprawling survey from the first few bites of the terrible twenties. It’s an investigative exposé of recent history, buried under the headlines & ancient kings buried under parking lots.
On their sophomoric smash-up, released world-wide by Sub Pop Records, Indie rock band Kiwi Jr cycle through the recent zigs & looming zags of the new decade. They are squinting anew at New Year’s parties forgotten and under-investigated small town diner fires, piecing together low-stakes conspiracy theories on what’s coming down the pike in 2021. “Cooler Returns” put together like a thousand-piece puzzle. The album was assembled in a flow state during the first dull stretch of quarantine, created by sanitized artists after shuffling to a sanitized studio by streetcar, masked like it’s the kind of work where getting recognized means getting killed.
Listen & order “Cooler Returns” here.