Suspended in amber with syrupy vocals and glossy drums, Good Company is a timeless yet nostalgic EP for a moment when no one quite knows where they are or where they’re going.
Recorded entirely in a makeshift home studio at drummer Joe O’Neill’s parents’ house, Good Company is the product of over a decade of tinkering, recording, and collaborating. O’Neill draws from lyrics he had written as early as 2011 working with Clara Berry, Kid Coyote’s vocalist and other half, and Daniel Schwartz, who mixed and mastered the EP. As a result, Good Company is a rich patchwork of experiences, spanning from the suburban boredom of adolescence into the uncertainty of young adulthood. Despite the lyrics’ age, the material feels more current than ever, drawing on themes of dissatisfaction with material life and the detachment that comes from drifting between the past and the future relevant to our pandemic reality.
Kid Coyote’s instrumentation is the star of the show, with vocals and drums forming the foundation of each catchy melody on Good Company. The title track opens with Berry’s magnetic vocals and a reverberating guitar riff, which saturate the track with a soothing sway. Even though O’Neill worked on the lead guitar part of the track since 2017, it sounds deliciously lazy, matching lyrics that express the difficulty of making an effort to go out against the ease of modern entertainment at home. “Good Company” may be the first post-pandemic anthem as Boston locals can look forward to singing the chorus: “Let’s take the T / Let’s see old friends, you know, old friends, they make good / They make good they make good company.” Never has public transportation sounded more enticing than when set to a tight little guitar solo and head-bobbing indie rock rhythm.
“Plastic” continues with the sentiment of getting caught up with the more superficial and material aspects of daily life and draws attention to the negative impact these have on the planet. Though O’Neill wrote this track in his high school band in 2011, the impermanence of time and the planet remain current as the opening lyrics chime: “Livin’ in a plastic home / Feels like nothing is here to stay.” With simple yet poignant lyrics, this track is subtle in its message, highlighting one of Kid Coyote’s greatest strengths. The arrangements are understated but not plain, freeing up space for the lyrics to tackle an issue as large as climate change and plastic pollution while floating at the same conversational pace.
However, this simplicity doesn’t mean Kid Coyote aren’t creative with their instrumentation and melodies. “Distracted Fantasy” takes a nod from its title with a delicately placed synth that creates a dreamlike atmosphere. Trepidation about the future is at the center of this track, but the bright and trance-like rhythm entices listeners to live with their head partially in the clouds alongside Kid Coyote instead of facing reality. The vocals are unclouded here, almost naïve, while the buoyant drums are ready to sweep you away into the next daydream—or into a fortune teller’s den: “Drive me down to Tremont Street / Find the girl who can see it all / She pays her rent with a crystal ball.” With some of the most delightful lyrics on the EP, “Distracted Fantasy” displays Kid Coyote’s ability to conjure up lush imagery in each uncomplicated rhythm and smooth drum track.
Contrasted with the naked dreaminess of “Distracted Fantasy,” “Young” is an edgier response to the carefree and aimless attitude of previous tracks. The vocals and the guitar are grittier here, bringing a tinge of sarcasm into the mix when the chorus draws out: “Time was never ever here to stay / It was everlasting, yeah yeah yeah yeah.” As always, the drums keep a steady, consistent heartbeat from where the track expands and breathes in no rush at all.
Recorded at his parents’ house, where it all started for O’Neill, Good Company is the culmination of all of the growing pains that come with balancing fantasy and reality or material satisfaction and deeper fulfillment. Through bringing together lyrics, demos, and places from O’Neill’s adolescence, Good Company is laced with nostalgia but still looks uncertainly to the future.