Kirby Krackle’s Latest Might Just Be The Crossover Nerd Rock Needs

(Ed. Note: This is the first in an irregular series of nerd music reviews by the amazingly talented cosplayer and musician Gregg Snider, AKA Wonderllama Cosplay.)

Combining power-pop and big hooks with nerdilicious lyrics about comics, video games and movies, Kirby Krackle (singer-songwriter Kyle Stevens) all but created the nerd-rock niche with their eponymous 2009 debut, Kirby Krackle.

March 2015 saw the release of their fifth studio album, Mutate, Baby! It has all the hallmarks of a Kirby Krackle album: catchy hooks, geek-inspired lyrics and themes, and well-crafted rock songs. It also shows the group maturing, with more polished studio production and a more mainstream sound, while largely remaining true to the formula that scored them legions of fans.

Combining less overtly geeky tracks with plenty of unabashedly nerdy songs, Mutate, Baby! reaches for a broader audience without alienating their fan base. The overall sound is often reminiscent of late ’90’s pop-punk groups like Blink-182 and Spacehog, filtered through the pop-focused vocal harmonies and production style of Goo Goo Dolls.

The opening track, “The Day My Powers Arrived,” is a perfect example. It’s an extremely catchy track with a huge hook that nails the not-so-secret desires of so many geeks: getting super powers and being welcomed into the superhero team. It pulls off a neat trick: it’s as much about aspiration and dreams as it is about flying or super-strength. This lyrical subtlety helps it transcend its nerd-rock origins and makes it an inspired radio-ready song.

Further walking the line between overt geekiness and lyrical subtlety is “No Spoilers, Please.” Ostensibly about experiencing pop culture without knowing the outcome, it’s equally a primer on living in the moment: “It seems like everyone’s trying to rush through their life / Like knowing how it ends is better than taking the ride.” It’s a fun, upbeat reminder to stop and smells the roses (and not to tell everyone on Facebook how the new Avengers movie ends).

“Dancing Baby Groot” is a standout track, paying homage to the tiny swaying tree that stole everyone’s heart at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy: “But nothing that I find can compare to the time when I sat through the credit scene / Saw you dancing shaking up there / Cause I’ve never seen nothing as cute / As a Dancing Baby Groot / So play the Jackson 5 if you feel alive.” Yup, that about sums it up. Its strong, keyboard-led sound is very similar to Sara Bareillis’s “Love Song,” though with the lyrics and the Jackson 5 reference, it felt like it needed a funky R&B groove.

Ever wonder what it would sound like if Weird Al and Cheap Trick collaborated on a song about being a time-traveling ghost? “I Was Made To Haunt You” could easily be the result. It makes the prospect of getting run over by a Chevy and being friends for eternity (while paying back that DBA who ruined the IT meeting by turning him inside out) seem very appealing.

Writing songs about comic books and superheroes without sounding trite or gimmicky is a tricky task; making them fun and catchy is even harder. Mutate, Baby! largely finds that balance; while some tracks succeed better than others, the album is a well-written collection of catchy, witty songs that speaks to the nerd in all of us.

Mutate, Baby! is available online at Kirby Krackle’s Bandcamp page.