Biography
Canadian indie rock outfit Kiwi Jr. blend Pavement’s snarky melodicism with C-86 jangle, threading restless wit through lyrics that chronicle house parties, oddball companions, and suburban terrain. Drawing from the ’80s and ’90s tradition of jangly slacker pop, the group delivered their bright, bounding debut Football Money in 2019 before aligning with Sub Pop for later projects, among them the 2022 new-wave-inflected Chopper.
The quartet came together in 2015, its lineup consisting of guitarist/vocalist Jeremy Gaudet, drummer Brohan Moore, bassist Mike Walker, and second guitarist Brian Murphy. Relocating from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island to Toronto in the mid-2010s proved pivotal; the move infused their spirited college pop with a pronounced metropolitan romanticism. While Murphy balanced guitar duties in Kiwi Jr. against bass work in Alvvays, the band spent 2016 and 2017 shaping its first album. During that stretch their sole recorded material was a lone demo, though they maintained a steady presence on Toronto stages. Only in 2019 did they partner with Mint Records, resulting in Football Money’s wider release. The following year Sub Pop welcomed them aboard, and tracks from the forthcoming Cooler Returns began to surface. That album appeared in January 2021.
On their third LP, Chopper, the group pared away excess with tighter production and prominent synthesizer textures. Wolf Parade’s Dan Boeckner lent production assistance—the first occasion Kiwi Jr. had enlisted an external producer and likewise Boeckner’s inaugural official credit. Sub Pop issued Chopper in August 2022 while the band undertook a handful of shows alongside label mates Weird Nightmare.
The quartet came together in 2015, its lineup consisting of guitarist/vocalist Jeremy Gaudet, drummer Brohan Moore, bassist Mike Walker, and second guitarist Brian Murphy. Relocating from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island to Toronto in the mid-2010s proved pivotal; the move infused their spirited college pop with a pronounced metropolitan romanticism. While Murphy balanced guitar duties in Kiwi Jr. against bass work in Alvvays, the band spent 2016 and 2017 shaping its first album. During that stretch their sole recorded material was a lone demo, though they maintained a steady presence on Toronto stages. Only in 2019 did they partner with Mint Records, resulting in Football Money’s wider release. The following year Sub Pop welcomed them aboard, and tracks from the forthcoming Cooler Returns began to surface. That album appeared in January 2021.
On their third LP, Chopper, the group pared away excess with tighter production and prominent synthesizer textures. Wolf Parade’s Dan Boeckner lent production assistance—the first occasion Kiwi Jr. had enlisted an external producer and likewise Boeckner’s inaugural official credit. Sub Pop issued Chopper in August 2022 while the band undertook a handful of shows alongside label mates Weird Nightmare.
Albums
Singles
