Boston’s Kid Mountain has a cheerful, twangy, eclectic sound that’s simply charming. Back in 2012, their debut full-length, Happies, perfectly embodied its title — bouncing, ambling synth tracks and wandering, layered vocals. Four years later, Kid Mountain have Trinkles to share. Lucky for you, we’ve got all 11 tracks for you to stream in full below.
Kid Mountain are equal parts alternative, indie, electro pop, and dance. Uniting these genres and extending beyond genre borders, they create fun, explorative songs with an intense attention to structure and form. Naturally, harmonics and overtones play a large role in their music, lending itself to energize their sound.
The six members of the band—Cole Wuilleumier, Derek Goulet, Tyler Rosenholm, Tyler Chauncey, Tim Patterson, and Jean J.—each have something unique to offer, and their individual talents shine on each track. Part of the reason DigBoston is so damn proud to premiere Trinkles is because, resonant harmonies abounding, Kid Mountain has somehow managed to deliver on the anticipation following Happies’ critical acclaim.
“We wanted to make music that is accessible but subversive, music that challenges DIY music norms,” Wuilleumier told DigBoston in our January interview with the band. The album certainly accomplishes that, paralleling chunky bass lines with more intricate, delicate synth lines. “Happies was optimistic and sentimental and comforting. Trinkles confronts that sentimentality and questions what is comforting,” he added. “Walk Around”, which you can stream below on DigBoston today, is a key model of that, as is the rest of the album.
“Curtains” marks a shift in tone for the album. The vocals slow and restrain themselves as the guitar sounds lazy and metallic. This creates a lulling effect on the listener, which works well for Kid Mountain’s tinny, bubbly sound. It picks up in pace about halfway through the track. The drums urge the track along, before shifting into the more baroque pop informed “Muddy Cloud”. Trinkles is a collision of genres, taking the best parts from each one and mashing them together and running with whatever comes out the other side.
Bright, shimmering, almost glittering, Trinkles is a testament to Kid Mountain’s staying power in the Boston scene. A worthy follow-up to Happies, it’s your soundtrack to the first foray into spring.
The album will officially be released on Tuesday, March 8th via Bandcamp. You can stream it in full below:
