The sound of
Kidbug will be familiar to anyone who was alive during the great grunge deluge of the late '80s/early '90s as well as anyone who might have discovered
Nirvana in the years that followed.
Adam Harding of
Dumb Numbers and
Marina Tadic of
Eerie Wanda are certainly card-carrying members of the former camp;
Harding has even made records featuring members of
the Melvins and
Dinosaur Jr. Kidbug's debut album doesn't delve too much into the harsh or heavy nature of grunge, instead the duo lean more towards the sweet and melodic side. Partly it's because the two musicians were in the initial stages of a long-distance love affair when they wrote the songs, partly it's down to the soft and introspective nature of
Tadic's songwriting and vocals. She's far from a belter, and on songs like "Lovesick" or "Together" that have some doomy grunge power in the music, her dulcet tones keep things light. The band (which includes
Bobb Bruno of
Best Coast on bass and
Thor Harris of
Swans on drums) doesn't just stick to re-creating grunge; they also take a solid whack at downtuned dream pop ("Woozy"), peppy alterna-pop that would have fit right in on a
Breeders album ("Good Inside"), soft psychedelia ("Stay"), and upbeat shoegaze ("Moonglue"). Whatever style they attempt, they nail it perfectly.
Harding and
Tadic's vocals blend together perfectly, the guitars mesh together like giant, gnarly gears, the production (unlike a great many of the bands they so clearly admire) is down-to-earth and clear, and the songs are hookily memorable. In every way,
Kidbug comes across like the labor of love that it clearly is, both to a sound and an era and to each other. Other bands have tried a similar thing and it hasn't worked as well; it feels like empty nostalgia or a craven career move.
Harding and
Tadic have the skills and passion to make it sound exceedingly fresh and new. In fact, if one were to hold
Kidbug up to the light in just the right way, it might be on par, or better than, the best efforts of the bands they've sought to emulate so reverently.