There’s something incredibly special here.

While 2018’s Music to Practice Safe Sex To was immediately impressive in its own right, it’s the self-titled second LP from Florida math-rock-meets-indie-rock band Pool Kids that truly capitalizes on the potential shown by its predecessor. While there aren’t any massive changes to their sound, everything on Pool Kids is done bigger and better this time around - from massive choruses to shredding guitar leads and expansive soundscapes in odd time signatures that have no business being as catchy as they are. This is truly a band finding their sound, nailing it down, and claiming it as their own.

Pool Kids makes its intentions clear right from the start with “Conscious Uncoupling”. For a song that comes in at just 3:30 to be called an epic feels a bit strange, but somehow the band is able to capture a variety of emotions and tones throughout this dynamic sonic odyssey. By the time the final bridge arrives, welcomed in by the lyrics “I’m not acting out of spite, you just couldn’t play your cards right”, it has become impossible to escape the emotional grip of this record.

This hyper-linear, meandering approach to songwriting is all over Pool Kids. While songs written in this style are often difficult to create in an engaging way, Pool Kids have it down to a science - from the beautifully disorienting “Almost Always Better (Almost Always Worse)” to the hypnotic and tense “Couch”, the band often plays with non-standard song structures, succeeding every time.

This isn’t to say Pool Kids completely eschews traditional songwriting. On the contrary, they often juxtapose the non-standard cuts with more straightforward rock anthems. “That’s Physics, Baby”, “Arm’s Length”, and “Talk Too Much” are so clearly written to be screamed along to at shows, from walls of guitars to ear-worm hooks that feel like meeting an old friend again. More often than not, Pool Kids are at their most commanding in the moments where they show restraint. This is something most artists take years to discover, but Pool Kids have made it clear that they already know they are at their strongest as the sum of their parts.

There’s no way to talk about Pool Kids without highlighting its middle section. “Comes In Waves”, “I Hope You’re Right”, and “Swallow” may be the best run of songs on any record in this genre in years - the latter track being the highlight of the record. The constant ebb and flow of “Swallow” is simultaneously crushing and cathartic, and the production choices are simply mesmerizing (the tasteful use of vocoder in the second chorus is a nice touch). This all leads up to the climax of this track, ushered in by cries of “How the fuck am I convincing you?”, culminating in every member of the band playing their instruments as if it were the last time they could.

One of the final lines of the hauntingly beautiful closer “Pathetic” sums up this record perfectly. “Take your time with it, ‘cause I’ll remember every word” feels equal parts emotive expression and mission statement for this record. Pool Kids know who they are, and this record is them sharing that with the world. And it’s damn good.

Album ranking: 9/10