“The songs capture the experience of realizing that some people are evil. Some people function just to manipulate others and work their way up,” Kiwi Kannibal songwriter, vocalist, and lead guitarist Amanda Mei says of the band’s forthcoming release. The title of the EP, Dog Eat Dog, comes from the songwriter’s realizing the nature of the world in emerging adulthood. (And, of course, the band’s mascot Kiwi, Mei’s tiny white poodle mix.)

Mei and bassist Adrian Rosas detail the three-track EP as a coming-of-age piece that draws lyrical inspiration from heartbreak, true crime, and a dissolution of the personal bubble of privilege. Rosas equates each track to a stage of emerging adulthood, with the first track, “Swimmer Boy,” beginning in high school and the innocence of youth, the second track, “Broken Toy,” continuing the journey into college and exposure to the dark side of the world, and the third track, “Jackie,” culminating with acceptance of these truths. The fact that these songs were written over the course of the past five years, when Mei was aged 16 to 21, corroborates this perception.

Musically, the recordings sit comfortably in the realm of alternative rock. The sound could be easily classified as “90s-nostalgic,” yearning for the days when flannel-clad rockstars graced the covers of music mags and the airwaves of college radio stations. And that’s certainly part of it, as the band cites such titans of the scene as Smashing Pumpkins, Dinosaur Jr., My Bloody Valentine, The Pixies, Radiohead, and Elliot Smith as influences. However, there’s more to it than meets the eye.

There’s a diversity of sonic texture among the three tracks, much to the joy of the band. “We wanted to create a very versatile EP where each song sounds drastically different from the others,” reveals Rosas. As a bassist, he draws inspiration from the heavy tones of technical wizards like Chris Squire of Yes, Geddy Lee of Rush, and Les Claypool of Primus. Being the other side of the oxymoronic juxtaposition that Kiwi Kannibal thrives in, Mei names pop artist Mitski as her biggest inspiration. The songwriting bug bit her when she saw the Laurel Hell singer live when she was 18. “To see another Asian woman on stage, being authentically herself, was life changing,” the songwriter confesses.

As such, the band is unafraid to swim away from the indie rock island, stating that they keep Amy Winehouse, Gorillaz, Fiona Apple, Serj Tankian, Mr. Bungle, Ennio Morricone, and Buckethead in heavy rotation. The two have a musical stack exchange of sorts, each showing the other their favorite artists and broadening their musical horizons. But that’s not to say that there isn’t a good deal of overlap on the Venn diagram of the pair’s musical taste. “It’s a blending of different influences, but we also like a lot of the same artists,” says Rosas.

In fact, it was precisely a musical overlap that cemented the friendship between Amanda and Adrian when they met as journalism students at Cal Poly in 2018. Mei recalls bonding with her future collaborator over a shared interest in The Voidz, which shortly led to the connection that provides the backbone of the band creatively. “We tell each other everything. We have a really deep friendship and creative relationship, and a lot of our conversations turn into songs,” Mei declares when asked about the input that Rosas has on her lyrics.

This best-friend/bandmate model has a storied history in rock music, with examples such as Bruce Springsteen and Clarence Clemons of the E Street Band, Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters, and the aforementioned Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson of Rush coming immediately to mind (with respect to David St. Hubbins and Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap). This connection allows for a certain transparency on the record, and affords the artists a comfortable space to bare their souls during the creative process.

On Dog Eat Dog, this comfort has led to the artists creating music that they are fans of themselves, and they’re unapologetic about it. “I wanna be making stuff that I enjoy listening to. I listen to my own music,” Mei says. Adrian puts it best, “I’ve been in a lot of bands, but I’ve never been in a band where I’m humming my own band’s music before. It has that sticking factor.” He confirms that he’s prouder of this record than any other project he’s worked on.

The EP is produced by San-Luis-Obispo-based electronic artist foodproduct, who also provided drums in the studio. It’s due out on March 12th on streaming platforms.

(Photo by Andy Sherar)