Toronto band Kiwi Jr released their Sub Pop debut, Cooler Returns, back in January, and it’s a baker’s dozen of ridiculously catchy three-minute pop nuggets that deliver massive sing-along-choruses. If you haven’t checked it out yet, give it a spin below.

The band have also now collaborated with cartoonist Dmitry Bondarenko on a 24-page booklet of illustrated lyrics. “To see all of the insanity of our lyrics represented visually is wild,” says singer/guitarist Jeremy Gaudet. “There’s stuff I saw in here that surprised even me, and I wrote the damned thing.” The Cooler Returns comic is only available via Bandcamp and on their upcoming tour. As to that, the band will be playing 2021 shows in L.A., Toronto, New Haven, NYC, Columbus, Ottawa, Halifax, and more, and then January dates in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, DC and Montreal ahead of a UK tour. Depending on the city, shows are with Tobin Sprout, Nap Eyes, TUNS, Surfer Blood and Gladie. All dates and openers are listed below.

The L.A. show happens October 1 at Gold Diggers with openers TBA (tickets) and the NYC show is at Brooklyn Made on November 12 with Tobin Sprout and Surfer Blood (tickets).

In other news, Kiwi Jr have also shared their recent KEXP session, featuring performances of five songs. You can watch that below.

KIWi JR – 2021/2022 TOUR DATES
Sat. Jul. 17 – Sudbury, ONT – River & Sky Festival
Fri. Oct. 1 – Los Angeles, CA – Gold Diggers
Fri. Oct. 15 – Toronto, Horseshoe Tavern !
Thur. Nov. 11 – New Haven, CT – Cafe Nine %
Fri. Nov. 12 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Made % $
Fri. Nov 19 – Columbus OH – Ace Of Cups $
Fri. Dec. 3 – London, ON – Rum Runners *
Sat. Dec. 4 – St. Catharine’s, ON – Warehouse *
Fri. Dec. 17 – Hamilton, ON – Bridgeworks *
Sat. Dec. 18 – Ottawa, ON – Club Saw *
Mon. Dec. 28 – Charlottetown, PEI – Trailside Music Hall &
Tues. Dec. 29 – Halifax, NS – Seahorse Tavern &
Fri. Jan. 7 – Pittsburgh, PA – Club Cafe &
Sat. Jan. 8 – Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s & @
Fri. Jan. 14 – Washington DC, Songbyrd ++ @
Sat. Jan. 22 – Montreal, Ritz &
Sat. Feb. 12 – London, UK – Dalston Victoria
Sun. Feb. 13 – Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club ~
Mon. Feb. 14 – Manchester, UK – Night & Day ~
Tues. Feb. 15 – Bristol, UK – Louisiana ~
Thur. Feb. 17 – Copenhagen DK – Ideal Bar
Fri. Feb. 18 – Stockholm, SE – Obaren
Sat. Feb. 19 – Oslo, NO – Blaa

! w/ Sahara and Dorothea Paas
% w/ Surfer Blood
$ w/ Tobin Sprout
* w/ TUNS
& w/ Nap Eyes
++ w/ Trace Mountains
@ w/ Gladie
~ w/ Chad VanGaalen