Chicago musician Kai Slater and his bedroom pop project, Sharp Pins, return with yet another record in 2025. Their breakthrough effort, Radio DDR, was recorded in 2024 but repackaged and released earlier this year. It made significant waves prior to the much-anticipated debut LP of his other band, Lifeguard, in June.
Slater has found a key influence in Robert Pollard, the prolific Guided by Voices frontman, and one has to wonder if he can keep pace with the lo-fi pioneer, who has not let up for almost 40 years. For a budding artist like Slater, it has to be daunting to be mentioned in the same breath as such an indie rock mainstay; however, he shows no signs of imposter syndrome on the delightful Balloon Balloon Balloon.
Setting aside the “Balloon” interludes, Slater has offered up another 18 tunes, most of which are catchy if not downright infectious. Although the record features some highlights, no single track stands out above the rest. Picking favorites largely depends upon one’s particular flavor of 1960s pop-rock. The mostly concise set of songs has staying power, and that’s a testament to Slater’s songwriting and his group’s execution.
The biggest knock on Sharp Pins‘ modus operandi is that the music doesn’t seem rooted in any sociopolitical context (a critique that can be made against Guided by Voices as well). It’s clearly indebted to jangly 1960s sounds, which bring color to Sharp Pins’ sepia-toned world, but that doesn’t make it any more relevant. The coy phrasing or odd title choice (e.g., “Popafangout”, “I Don’t Adore Youo”, “Serene Haus of Hair”) cannot detract from the fact that this has all been done before and arguably in more meaningful ways.
There’s a fine line between paying homage to a type of music and emulating it to a fault. “I Don’t Have the Heart”, (In a While) You’ll Be Mine”, and “Maria Don’t” channel distinct styles the Beatles popularized, and the record could naturally be viewed through this lens. Upon closer reflection, other references become clear. One can hear the Zombies on the harmonious “Talking in Your Sleep”, Elvis Costello on the kinetic “Takes So Long”, and Galaxie 500 on “I Don’t Adore You”, which meanders along before ripping into an intense solo.
The album’s unequivocally lo-fi production will largely go unnoticed, but the track sequencing allows for a number of self-contained songs to coalesce into a whole. Comparing Balloon Balloon Balloon to Guided by Voices’ groundbreaking Bee Thousand, this record rambles forward with the same ease (and “I Could Find Out” is very much cut from the same cloth). With the right juxtaposition, a syrupy-sweet melody, like “(I Wanna) Be Your Girl”, can naturally stand alongside the tender lament “Gonna Learn to Crawl”.
If listeners find themselves disoriented in time and place, that is by design. Sharp Pins’ most recognizable feature is their chameleon-like approach. The analog “(I Wanna) Be Your Girl”, with darling vocal harmonies, comes closest to defining the act that seems impossible to pin down. With Balloon Balloon Balloon, Sharp Pins make another solid effort that should be lauded for its authentic representation, even if we are expected to overlook the question of what makes them one-of-a-kind.