Chicago based indie rock band Tiny Kingdoms just released their new EP I’ll Wait Around!
Tracks: 1.Your Bones 2.Goodnight 3.Odds 4.Wait Here
Nico Miura (guitar/vocals), Jake Newling (drums), Ryan Mitchell (guitar), and Nick Collis (bass) have created an acoustic/stripped down EP that’s rather different from TK’s typical sound. What I specifically enjoyed about Tiny Kingdoms’ I’ll Wait Around is that it’s fresh, sincere, and not masquerading. If you haven’t listened to the band before, I suggest playing I’ll Wait Around in its entirety first – making sure to understand this side of them. Then by all means delve into the rest of their music! Everything they’ve released thus far has been crazy good.
Photo: Kyle Bergfors
The first track, ‘Your Bones’ (which actually originates on Tiny Kingdoms’ Withered EP) retains a lot of power for being stripped down. It successfully builds anticipation for the rest of the EP, but certainly still holds your attention. ‘Your Bones’ is a mixture of conflicting feelings that underline being torn apart by someone but still missing them desperately. The writing is complex, with an extremely catchy chorus that I’ve been singing along to repeatedly since I’ll Wait Around dropped. ‘Your Bones’ accentuates their individual talents while generating an idea of what Tiny Kingdoms is capable of as a unit.
‘Goodnight’ has a darker tone, and instinctively all focus goes to Miura’s vocals. There is this audio effect (I’m assuming) in the background that is like a hint of rainfall during some moments of ‘Goodnight’. Do you hear it too? Sensitive and clearly full of emotions, the unembellished nature of this track, and the EP as a whole, manifests an even more introspective, personal, and meaningful experience. It ends with a cover of “You Are My Sunshine”. Speechless.
Photo: Kyle Bergfors
Introduced with attractive strumming and a steady beat, ‘Odds’ is reflective of giving your all, and being drowned by the lack of reciprocation. With well-written lyrics, you might find this song to be quite sentimental. One of the best lines for me was, “all my efforts feel like burdens laced in honesty”. The shortest timewise, but also my favorite on I’ll Wait Around.
There’s not much to say about the final track, ‘Wait Here’. The reason for that is it doesn’t require words to explain it. Maintaining the ability to make you feel something, this is the kind of song that you just need to listen to and let the emotions come through. What I found to be fascinatingly brilliant is how the instrumentals were rightfully the star of ‘Wait Here’, and had the spotlight from the beginning – however, there is a pretty spectacular vocal moment towards the end.
Photo: Kyle Bergfors
I hope you take some time to stream Tiny Kingdom’s EP I’ll Wait Around, and that you also follow them on their socials below so that you can stay updated on what I’m sure will continue to be an exceptional journey for them!
Alex Kilgore, Untold Music Promotion