This band is another hometown hero. And the Kids are Western Mass’s indie darlings. I heard about them from my friend Anna, who saw them play at one of our town’s local festivals. I was drawn to them because they have a different stage presence from what I was used to. Most of the time I saw audience involvement it was punks shouting and moshing. With And The Kids, the audience involvement was like an inside joke; if you had seen them perform before, you knew when to shout along and when to hold back. You caught on quickly, and as soon as you did, it felt like a special interactive performance.
The album I wanted to talk about of
theirs is called Nothing Came First, but it has mysteriously disappeared from
all streaming sites, so I’ll mostly write about Turn To Each Other instead. Nothing
Came First was my comfort album when I went to WWOOF in Italy. Their song “Loner”
about no one coming up to talk to you in a crowded place was exactly how I felt
being alone in a country where I didn’t know the language. I would listen to that
song on repeat while I herded sheep through the mountains of Tuscany, and it
would bring me a little comfort.
When I got back from Italy and went
to college, the album Turn To Each Other dropped just in time for me to go
completely nuts trying to get my friends to like them. Not to toot my own horn,
but I think I might be singlehandedly responsible for the Goucher College Alums
from 2017-2019 who like And the Kids. I say that because I was Obsessed™.
When this album came out, I was a freshman without a car. I BEGGED a friend of
mine to drive me to a show they were playing nearby. When the friend told me it
might not be able to happen because they had so much work to do for finals, I
cried. We were in the library and I went deep into the stacks and had a big ole
cry. It wasn’t just about the show- I was also still deeply depressed and anxious,
hadn’t yet started therapy, and was overwhelmed with school and finals. I had
really been looking forward to showing my new friends the unique and exhilarating
experience of And the Kids live.
Funnily enough, I can’t even
remember if we went to the show. I think we did, because my friend felt so bad
for making me cry, but at this point I’ve seen And the Kids so many times in so
many places that I’m not sure which show is which. I do remember one time I
told the band that I could help them book shows in Baltimore, as if I had any
clout in the Baltimore indie scene at all. Thank god they never took me up on
that offer- it would just end in my own embarrassment.
Their newest album, When This Life Is
Over, is one of my all-time favorites. I think they perfected their sound on
those tracks, and I highly suggest you listen.
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