Good Kid’s “Good Kid 2” [Review]

When I started listening to Good Kid, they had 7 songs out, those being the ones from the previous EP, as well as the track “Slingshot” which is on this EP. Since then I’ve had a lot of their songs in my regular rotation and I’ve gotten a lot of them stuck in my head.

Releasing on November 6th, 2020, Good Kid’s follow up to their first EP, the self-titled “Good Kid” (review here), the aptly named “Good Kid 2” is the band’s second EP and is made up of four previously released singles along with two more tracks. The band has never stopped making music, but their release schedule is pretty sporadic which explains the gap between releases.

“Good Kid 2” resolves some of my gripes that I had with the previous EP. One of the biggest things that I immediately noticed is that the band was able to express their range much more than they did before. This EP keeps the trend of Good Kid songs being rather short. With a runtime of only 15 minutes and 50 seconds, this EP is shorter than the last with the longest song clocking in at 2:56. Sticking to their previous formula, most of the songs on this EP are rather upbeat, making you want to jump up and dance. Despite this, the two new tracks are a lot more somber compared to the rest of their discography. As with all Good Kid songs, nearly all of the songs on this EP have a much darker meaning when you dive a bit deeper into them.

Good Kid is a band full of video game nerds and no song shows that better than “Down with the King”. It may not seem like it at first listen, but the song is actually about the game “Donkey Kong Country”. The band even mentioned this in their song announcement video. The lyrics push this even further, in the first verse the singer paints a picture of them sitting down in front of the game stating that they can’t remember when they last played it. The lyric “A misplaced step a single slip or fall / It’s back to one-dash-one, I’ve lost it all” keeps on pushing this theme. Even in the chorus, you hear the rest of the band shouting two lines “Down with the king!” and “You are so cruel!”. These lines are in reference to the main antagonist of the game “King K. Rool” and the word ‘cruel’ is a pun on the name ‘K.Rool’. While the song is about the game, the theme being pushed is about fighting through something, be it a game or even in real life. Like with all Good Kid songs, this one has incredible vocals, guitar, and drums. I really enjoy how the band slowed things down in the bridge too.

“Everything Everything”’s music video was supposed to be shot on location in space, a concept I can’t stop smiling at. Please do yourself a favor and watch this music video because it’s a delight. This song contains a few references to ancient temples found in Mexico and South America, almost as if the singer was a resident of such a civilization or even a diety of sorts. Looking at the song from a more modern eye, the song is about someone building a life and it ultimately not working out. While they tried to make things work out, the “city of jade” that they tried to maintain ultimately ended up with “crumbling walls”. Even though they lost everything the singer is still trying to make the best of what they have. The instrumental break is such an amazing touch on this track. It’s a calm before the storm that erupts into the chorus and it’s just so good.

Without slowing down, we are “Slingshot”-ted into the next track. Probably the heaviest rock song that the band has ever performed, the vocals feel a lot stronger, almost guttural. This song is about working to better yourself as a person. The singer lost someone important to them due because that person hated them. With both parties doubting themselves, the singer works to become something better and hopes that whoever left them is crumbling without them. This song puts the Good Kid flare on things and takes that guitar and drums that we love them for and emphasizes a more rock-heavy sound.

“Pox” was revealed to be a breakup song during a live stream that the band did to celebrate the release of the EP. This is where Good Kid strayed from their sound and went for a more woeful and heavy-hearted song. Putting this track right after “Slingshot” shows that the band is trying to be a lot more experimental and branching out. The dichotomy is incredible and it hits you like a truck. This track was actually written roughly 10 years ago by the lead singer of the band and it was redone in the band’s style. He said that this song was emphasizing the theme of “listlessness” and the feeling of being adrift. It’s a very depressing song, but the band somehow manages to make it their’s even though it’s so different from every other song they’ve ever released.

While the mood picks up in “Aloe Lite”, the song is still very different from the typical Good Kid sound. It’s another breakup song and I love how that’s shown in the usage of guitar chords. During the instrumental section toward the middle of the song, the emotion that the guitars bring hit you hard. The lyrics here can be taken at face value, the singer can’t let go of their ex and they don’t know why. The funny thing about this song is that the name came from a drink as the band revealed in their live stream.

“Drifting” picks up the mood quite a bit, but doesn’t hit the high that “Down with the King” did. “Drifting” is another ‘classic’ Good Kid song in the sense that it’s an upbeat song with a much deeper meaning. The bright guitar and drums are a staple and the lyrics are describing a couple breaking up. The singer’s mind is “Drifting” off into another world and his significant other is tired of it.

Final Thoughts

This EP is full of bittersweet breakup songs, hell that’s most of the band’s discography. Nevertheless, “Good Kid 2” is so much better than the band’s first EP. This is the band’s sophomore EP and they’re doing a lot right. I criticized their first EP for having songs that sound incredibly similar to each other and they managed to fix that in this EP. The band continues to innovate and is able to maintain their signature sound while experimenting with a much more melancholy mood.

Good Kid 2 Live Q&A

Album Score: 9/10
Favorite track: “Down With the King”

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