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	microcd8 Kiddo Okay Sweetheart cd		US Orders $12 Non-US orders $15
	In the year 2000, Kiddo’s self-titled debut gave a brilliant sparkle to the rust-belt buckle of Cleveland. Pop was considered by many in the Midwest to be the province of mannequins in hip-hop duds or garage-rock drag. In their hometown, Kiddo single-handedly led a revolution by delivering sparkle that didn’t forsake Middle America’s credo of guts over gloss. Of course, pop kids who dwelt underneath the radar of flabby commercialism knew better, and thus Kiddo has come to be beloved among the cheerleaders of that underground scene, from Ann Arbor, Michigan to Australia. Much has happened to Kiddo since then-personnel changes, touring as well as day-to-day living in a darkened world. Kiddo’s second full-length, Okay Sweetheart, shows them stripping down in order to fully reveal their greatest qualities: high-flying boy/girl vocals, guitars that jangle and crash, a rousing rhythm section and Kiddo’s unstoppable songs that’ll turn your body into a lightning rod of glowing pop. Okay Sweetheart’s opening cut, K-N-O-C-K-O-U-T does away with the slathered guitars of Kiddo’s first album and instead piles on a lusty, sassy chorus with long-time Cleveland garage-rock maven, Mark Leddy, on sprightly Farfisa organ. Mr. Virtuoso finds singer/bassist Lizzie Wittman stepping up with a killer vocal spot and an even more killer bass sound that’s downright brawny (you’ll find those two qualities in abundance on Okay Sweetheart). This Could Take Forever is the sound of Craig Ramsey’s hard hitting beats finally putting to rest any allegations of Kiddo’s twee-ness. It’s a bracing rocker that starts with one trashy guitar banging on a riff straight out of the British Invasion; it ends with Lizzie and vocalist/guitarist Christian Doble pushing the mics into the red with soulful hollering. Otherguys nicks a 50s style melody that would have made Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers proud; on the other hand, Sunday, a campfire sing-a-long about a naughty pooch, brings to mind the massed vocals of groups like the Mamas and the Papas. The upbeat and hopeful Rocketship starts with a Tin Pan Alley turn by Christian that launches into the psychedelic stratosphere with all of Kiddo and friends belting out a heavenly refrain. About You brings back the smitten glee of the band’s first CD; this is contrasted by the Euro-downer vibe of I Won’t Try Again and the almost a cappella Till My Face Turns Blue, which ends Okay Sweetheart the way that After Hours ended the Velvet Underground’s eponymous 1969 monument to melancholia—all this and more-clocking in at just under 30 minutes. Okay Sweetheart synthesizes all of the influences spotted on their first record (Juliana Hatfield, Travis Morrison, the Smoking Popes, et al.) as well as the timeless back canon of all pop, becoming Kiddo’s most honest and undistilled statement yet. Even with leaner and meaner production values, Okay Sweetheart will still find a sweet spot in the hearts of those smitten by melody, whether they’re from Melbourne or the Midwest.