"Working in the vein of "laptop twee" acts like friends& and Worldpeace DMT, who fuse the genre-smashing maximalism promised by hyperpop with the whimsical optimism of '00s buzz bands, the material on their 2025 album Shy at first is as dense and dynamic as the songs you try to compose in your imagination."
"That record's best moments embraced the glitchy creative freedom of early-aughts indie rock classics like the Unicorns' Unicorns Are People Too and Animal Collective's Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished. As indulgent as it is to kick your record off with a 90-second noise montage, for example, the warm, cozy production counterbalanced the chaos."
"With the crisper fidelity of studio recording comes music that's more direct and guitar-oriented. They still have a taste for kitschy stock drum sounds and high-frequency synth trills, but they take fewer detours. This souped-up version of cootie catcher is sometimes reminiscent of the wistful power pop of new Carpark labelmates the Beths: breezy enough that the hooks surprise with their weight."
Cootie catcher, a Toronto twee-pop quartet, explores themes of transit and displacement throughout their music, with protagonists traveling via subway, bike, and car. Working within the "laptop twee" genre that blends hyperpop maximalism with '00s indie whimsy, the band previously embraced glitchy production reminiscent of early-aughts acts like Animal Collective and the Unicorns. Their new album S.W.A.G., recorded shortly after their previous work Shy at First, marks a significant shift toward polished studio production and more direct, guitar-oriented songwriting. While maintaining their taste for kitschy drum sounds and synth elements, the band takes fewer experimental detours, resulting in catchier, more accessible compositions that recall the wistful power pop of labelmates the Beths.
Read at Pitchfork
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