Pool Kids bring midwest emo math rock formula to Columbus

I don’t mess around with some genres of music, but Thursday night at A&R Music Bar showed me that I could be encouraged to soften my stance when Midwest emo rippers Pool Kids brought their new album on tour. I walked in hesitant to change and left understanding a piece of what I have been missing.

If you can keep a secret, my initial motivation to attend this show was to see Pony, the poppy Canadian rock band who disarms you with their live set. Every time this four-piece band came around Ohio, other plans took me away from seeing them live but everyone I talk to who listened to Pony loves them, so I put my indifference to emo aside.

Led by singer/songwriter/guitarist Sam Bielanski and lead guitarist/spouse Matty Morand, the band takes the bubblegum pop rock you hear on their albums and makes it sound aggressive and in your face on stage.

Bielanski began the night playing accompanying guitar with Morand on new single “Superglue,” and a couple tracks from 2023 LP “Velveteen” and then she retired the guitar. Once that happens, the smiles of Bielanski turn into scowls as her voice picks up a twinge and snarl. It still has the bubbly characteristic of Bielanski’s poppy vocal style but you begin to understand the lyrics of the tracks – they are not as harmless as their recorded sound lets on.

On 2024 single “Freezer,” Bielanski balls up her fists, throws them towards the ground as she sings:

“Better, better off forgotten,
And I suck at keeping promises,
I’m dying to be her,
But I’ll just die right here,
Locked inside the freezer”

All the while, Morand and the backing drums and bass push the songs into the crowds’ chests.

Then, every few songs, Bielanski talks to the crowd with the politeness expected of a Canadian, including kind words about Columbus. So much so that one of the best nights of her life happened in Columbus, but unfortunately there was not enough time for the tale.

That would have taken away from the outstanding set that featured all three of their recent singles over the last two years and a few selections from “Velveteen.” Once the set ended, and the setlist folks ran to stage to get one, there was nothing to take as Bielanski told them “it’s all up here” pointing to her head. Morand was kind enough to give them a pick.

Truth Club was up next, an indie rock/post-punk quartet out of North Carolina. Led by Travis Harrington, the lead vocalist and guitarist who stood off to the side of the stage and sang through hair that covered half his face.

They are the opposite of bubblegum pop rock, but the variety is what makes live music so beautiful. Truth Club still complimented both Pony and Pool Kids because, like both bands, their driving guitar work radiates through the emotionless and architecturally bland A&R Music Bar venue (unless you love a big random support beam in your field of view).

 

Soon after the start of the set, a broken guitar cable caused a bit of what Harrington called “triage” to fix it. Any kind of between-song banter reflected that of the overwhelming feeling it is to exist right now with any sort of empathy. From providing free life-saving drugs at the merch table to the general anger of decisions made by the government, there was an undertone that everyone agreed.

Anyone with a platform should use it when they can, and I appreciated Truth Club’s frankness. The music, tone and body language of the band on stage does not lend to “we are happy,” in whatever the stereotypical idea of happiness you hold onto dearly, so there was no other way to take it than genuinely.

Music is an escape, sure, but it’s also a tool for good and I’m glad they said it. It does not always come across as believable but for all reasons above, it was.

Last up was Pool Kids. Now, when it comes to emo music, my emotions usually get the best of me, and not in a good way. Just hearing the genre’s name takes me back to whiney-voiced dudes from the early 2000s flipping their guitars around their bodies with some of the most obscure lyrics and song titles imaginable.

My young wannabe punk self, living in the Ohio suburbs where I had nothing to be punk about, formed a visceral style disliking of bands like Taking Back Sunday, Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco (and I’m still not sure the last two bands are actually different bands).

After a while, the disliking became a personality trait and anytime I used the phrase “emo” it was perceived as me saying I plain ole did not like it. I’ve had serious arguments with good friends about my use of the word and reading in Dan Ozzi’s Sellout that even My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way did not agree that his band was emo radicalized me further.

All that to say, there is good emo out there. I see that now with Pool Kids. I consulted with that aforementioned argument friend about the tag for Pool Kids, because my knowledge of the genre is as shallow as my experience listening to it.

Pool Kids is a Midwest emo band with noticeable math rock guitar signatures and carry their own sound that does not connect to the nostalgia-fueled emo renaissance of bands from the early 2000s. Lead singer Christine Goodwyne does not fit my preconceived idea of an emo band singer. For one, not a sad white dude, which is nice.

Also, Goodwyne has amazing energy on stage. The singer/guitar player used every bit of the stage, the platform in front of it and the crowd. Goodwyne crowd-surfed, lost some tech while doing it and later in the set was in the pit singing and knocking into everyone.

Another thing with their style of Midwest Emo, it was easy to mosh to because of the aforementioned energy. The kids were moshing too, even though it was not a hardcore, punch each other mosh, everyone was smiling and enjoying it. There was also the occasional fan crowd-surf, which is not easy at A&R with the stage directly up against the crowd. So, a fan would be lifted up, move a couple feet in a circle, then go back to the ground.

On stage, Goodwyne and guitarist Andy Anaya took turns with their alternating shredding and mathy shredding. Both took turns standing front and center, on one knee, playing the same way you would imagine an arena rock band.

 

If you go to concerts to have fun, Pool Kids will get you to have fun. Goodwyne and Anaya barked, spilled out compliments to the crowd freely and did it all with a smile on their faces.

Most of the night, Pool Kids dedicated to their new album “Easier Said Than Done,” their third LP since 2018. The other two had representation but it was a tour for their new stuff, and luckily the new stuff is great. I confirmed with my ears and also with a Pool Kids fan who did not go for the usual “the old stuff is better.” Pool Kids stuff is good all-around.

Even to a hater like myself.