Massachusetts-based And The Kids have a new record out this week. When This Life Is Over, the follow-up to 2016’s Friends Share Lovers, is available to stream here today ahead of its release this Friday.

With a few rather unexpected tempo changes, opening track “No Way Sit Back” really sets the vibe for the rest of the record. Mohan belts, “The world was never made for us,” taking the band’s youthful rebelliousness full throttle. The rest of the record ebbs and flows, and after a few upbeat and electric bops like “Butterfingers” and lead single “Champagne Ladies,” the latter half of the record strips back some of the metaphors and gives it to us straight.

This is felt fully on the title track, which opens with a swaying yet contemplative melody that reflects on the particulars of life after death. The chorus builds strenuously with a triumphant vocal by Mohan, descending into fuzzed-out chaos when she sings, “Nothing is worse than an entropy.” Also mind-blowing are the soft layered vocals on “Somethings (Are) Good.” Such synchronization shows how much conceptual thinking went into the project.

Here’s the band with some insight on their creative process:

When This Life Is Over is an album that explores the total freedom of mortality’s fate. Some songs are pure love songs about finding love in the next life, while others are about the struggles happening right now in this world and our personal worlds. Some interconnect the two. We took inspiration from the lyrics “When this life is over, no more rules, no more orders” and let that set the tone of the whole album, meaning, Let’s break the rules of what an album should be. Let’s put bedroom demos on the album! Let’s put a million harmonies on it! Let’s not worry about how we might play stuff live! That can be restrictive in the writing process. We let everything go, so that we could be our most creative selves. Though its title and theme might appear dark, the album’s actually about the remarkable, beautiful freedom of the afterlife.

Stream the full album below.

TOUR DATES:
02/19 Albuquerque, NM @ Sister The Bar
02/21 Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
02/22 Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar
02/28 Detroit, MI @ Deluxx Fluxx*
03/01 Fort Wayne, IN @ The Brass Rail*
03/02 Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern*
03/03 Davenport, IA @ The Raccoon Motel*
03/06 Kansas City, MO @ The Riot Room*
03/07 Omaha, NE @ Reverb Lounge*
03/08 Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge*
03/09 Fort Collins, CO @ Downtown Artery*
03/12 Boise, ID @ Radio Boise Tuesday At Neurolux^
03/13 Spokane, WA @ The Bartlett^
03/14 Seattle, WA @ Barboza^
03/15 Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios^
03/16 Eugene, OR @ WildCraft Cider Works^
03/20 Santa Cruz, CA @ The Crepe Place^
03/21 San Francisco, CA @ Cafe Du Nord^
03/22 Los Angeles, CA @ The Satellite^
03/23 La Jolla, CA @ The Ché Café^
03/24 Las Vegas, NV @ The Beauty Bar^
03/28 Nashville, TN @ The Basement – Nashville~
03/29 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl~
03/30 Asheville, NC @ The Mothlight~
03/31 Durham, NC @ The Pinhook~
04/01 Harrisonburg, VA @ Clementine Cafe~
04/03 Richmond, VA @ The Camel %
04/04 Washington, DC @ Comet Ping Pong %
04/05 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s %
04/06 Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right %
04/07 Hamden, CT @ Space Ballroom (Front Room) %
04/11 Allston, MA @ Great Scott %
04/12 Providence, RI @ Columbus Theatre – Small %
04/13 Portsmouth, NH @ The Press Room %
04/18 Portland, ME @ Space Gallery +
04/19 Burlington, VT @ ArtsRiot +
04/20 Northampton, MA @ Parlor Room @ Signature Sounds +
04/25 Bangor, ME @ Bangor Arts Exchange #
04/28 Montreal, QC @ Casa Del Popolo #
04/29 Ottawa, ON @ LIVE! on Elgin #
05/02 Hamilton, ON @ This Ain’t Hollywood #
05/03 Toronto, ON @ The Baby G #
05/04 Syracuse, NY @ Spark Art Space #
05/05 Kingston, NY @ BSP Kingston #

*with Toth
^with Cardioid
~with The Restless Age
% with Bat House
+ with Julia Caesar
# with Thanya Iyer

When This Life Is Over is out 2/22 on Signature Sounds. Pre-order it here.