Since 2019, the Toronto band Kiwi Jr.—guitarist-vocalist Jeremy Gaudet, drummer Brohan Moore, bassist Mike Walker, and guitarist Brian Murphy, who all hail from Prince Edward Island, Canada—have crafted three albums full of punchy pop hooks and real rock riffs. As a lyricist, Gaudet kicks around familiar turns of phrase until they take on unexpected meanings: “We can forgive but we can’t forget. / No, not when no one shuts up about it,” he sings on “Salary Man.” Their debut, Football Money (Mint Records), was described by The Big Takeover as “precisely the type of record that materializes when a band actually prioritizes songwriting,” and their last two albums, Cooler Returns and Chopper, released by Sub Pop, have won even greater acclaim. They scratch a particular indie-rock itch—the funny-but-rocking kind—perfected by mid-’90s titans like Guided By Voices (GBV) and Pavement, both of whom Kiwi Jr. opened for this past year.

I spoke to Gaudet in summer 2023, between tours to promote Chopper. A few months later, I saw Kiwi Jr. open for GBV in Dayton, Ohio, where the band managed to capture attention, applause, and new fans, even as Robert Pollard’s devotees waited for their hero to take the stage.