Pool Kids at The Annex

Pool Kids’ third album, Easier Said Than Done, shimmers with emotional clarity and courage.

Adrenalizing and irresistible, it brings the dynamism of the band’s live show into the studio,

showcasing a style that’s unmistakably their own.

Pool Kids first started playing on Tallahassee’s house show circuit. The band earned a fan in

Paramore’s Hayley Williams with their debut album, 2018’s Music to Practice Safe Sex To. After

they filled out to a four-piece — Andy Anaya on guitar, Nicolette Alvarez on bass, Caden Clinton

on drums, and Christine Goodwyne on guitar and vocals — their 2022 self-titled record netted

critical acclaim with its lush, high-contrast mixture of pop, emo, and math rock. They’ve shared

stages with The Mountain Goats, PUP, Beach Bunny, and La Dispute. They hold fast to their

DIY principles: Anyone can do what Pool Kids do. Anyone can start a band.

For Easier Said Than Done, Pool Kids worked with producer Mike Vernon Davis (Foxing, Great

Grandpa). They funded the record themselves, and spent five weeks recording in Seattle. To

save money during sessions, they stayed with friends, in motels, and slept on the floor of the

studio. “We did a lot of searching, playing each song a million different ways and deciding which

one sounded the best,” says Goodwyne. With the completed record in hand, the band signed to

Epitaph.