Brimming with curiosity, color, and heart, Spring Term’s ‘Kiddo, Vol. 2’ EP is a radiant, wonder-filled indie pop reverie – a vibrant, vulnerable, and sonically stunning continuation of Nathan Davis’ coming-of-age story that embraces life’s mess with a smile, capturing the ache, awe, and exhilaration of growing up in four unforgettable tracks.
for fans of Vampire Weekend, Walk the Moon, American Authors
Stream: ‘KIDDO, VOL. 2’ – Spring Term
There’s something quietly radical about choosing joy when the world feels uncertain.
About leaning into color, levity, and play not as an escape, but as a way through. Kiddo, Vol. 2 doesn’t ignore the mess – it dances with it, cradles it, sings to it in full Technicolor. This is music that makes space for the hard stuff without losing its sense of wonder.
Spring Term’s Kiddo, Vol. 2 is a radiant rush of wonder – playful and poignant, buoyant and bruising, endlessly curious and emotionally wise beyond its years. A sequel in both name and nature, this warm and wondrous indie pop EP picks up where Spring Term’s 2022 EP Kiddo left off, continuing a coming-of-age story that blurs fact and fiction, memory and imagination. Through four uplifting tunes drenched in clever lyricism and experimental textures, Indianapolis-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Nathan Davis dives into the mess and magic of adolescence – tackling love, self-discovery, fear, vulnerability, and joy with unflinching honesty and a childlike sense of curiosity. The result is an irresistibly colorful world of melody and meaning, where everything is tactile, intentional, and alive.
Hey, I don’t got a lot to say
I don’t got lot to say to you for now
Hey, now I gotta face the change
When I count it up I’m gonna tell you all that
Maybe I’m a starman
Maybe I can fly into the sun
of oh sweet nothin’
Add it all up one, by one by one
I don’t got a lot to say to you, my love
– “Velveteen,” Spring Term
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering Kiddo, Vol. 2, Spring Term’s expansive and expressive project yet: A genre-hopping, heart-on-sleeve exploration of growing up and getting it wrong, of asking questions and learning to sit with the not-knowing. Independently May 30th, 2025, the four-track record is a spirited, smile-inducing seduction perfect for springtime romps and summer reveries – where we aspire to feel our best, while still feeling the full weight of the world, past and present.
“This record is a continuation of the exploration of childhood that started with my first EP, Kiddo,” Davis tells Atwood Magazine. “After being in bands for my formative years as a musician, I wanted to introduce this solo project with a multi-release, chronological journey through growing up. This EP covers the later years of childhood up through adolescence.”
“The initial vision was to continue the storytelling style from the first EP in a fairly straightforward way. But as I leaned into a more childlike spirit of curiosity, factual storytelling, fiction, and fairy tale started to blur a bit. Each song began with a real moment from my life, but they developed into something more open and imaginative.”
That blur is what makes Kiddo, Vol. 2 so magical: It lives in the liminal spaces between past and present, real and surreal – a project rooted in truth and bursting with wonder.
Every track begins from a place of personal memory, but through Davis’ kaleidoscopic lens, each one expands into something vivid, playful, and poetic. These aren’t just songs; they’re scenes, sensations, little universes – stitched together with humor, heart, and sonic detail.
“Performing the songs live before finishing the recordings also had a huge impact,” Davis adds. “It shaped the energy and direction of the production, like how ‘Bracelet’ took on a more rock-and-roll feel at the end thanks to my friend Saint Aubin, who played drums with me on tour.”
By now I’ve studied your name, babe
Pictured the ways I could say it
I know it’s been so silent
Now I’m ready to call
This gift is woven and braided
Its captive colors are waiting
Will you show ‘em off in public
El globo en el cielo
Do wear em out in the open
(You) Be Cuzan I’ll be Chalpol
I bought you a bracelet honey
Let me help you put it on
– “Bracelet,” Spring Term
As the name suggests, this EP is a direct continuation of Spring Term’s first chapter, 2022’s introductory debut EP Kiddo. The six-track record – which is as playable today as it was two and a half years ago – feels very much like a companion to its successor, both sonically and thematically. “These songs are part of the same story a few years down the road,” Davis explains – though there are obvious distinctions that he’s quick to call out. “I think this EP shows how I’ve grown as a producer and songwriter. It’s me experimenting in real time, leaning into samples, pulling from genres and traditions I hadn’t explored before, and letting things get a little more both surreal and direct. Collaborators like Eli Smart (who played lap steel on ‘Velveteen’) and Kyle Barkes (who provided production help and mixing) helped shape the sound into something I couldn’t have created alone.”
Candidly (and cheekily) described by Davis as “curious, growing, not-knowing,” Kiddo, Vol. 2 thrives in that beautifully awkward, in-between space where you’re old enough to ask big questions, but still young enough to believe in magic. Each of the EP’s four songs offers a different angle on that experience, pulling from personal memories and transforming them into radiant sonic snapshots – rich in feeling, detail, and imagination. From sun-kissed melodies and vivid character portraits to intimate love songs and bittersweet epilogues, these tracks shine with warmth and emotional clarity. They’re inviting, energizing, and deeply human – a series of vibrant vignettes that speak to the messy joy of growing up.
“The Salesman” kicks things off with a bright grin and a big open door. Playful, sun-kissed, and irresistibly bouncy, it’s a perfect introduction to Kiddo, Vol. 2’s imaginative world – all kinetic bass lines, jangly guitars, and lyrical whimsy. “The Salesman” feels like a nod to early Vampire Weekend, but with its own narrative twist: A larger-than-life archetype appears on the doorstep, peddling everything from corsets to Greenwich Village folk songs. “It’s a slightly cartoonish take on the feeling of opening the door to a stranger as a kid,” Davis shares. “That song helped pull me out of my usual songwriting tone and into something more playful and grand.” The result is both metaphor and memory – a vibrant, theatrical song about the promises we’re sold growing up, and the moments when we start to question them.
“Bracelet” softens the energy, trading cartoonish flair for something more tender and dreamy. A gentle, glistening love song wrapped in warped pianos and infectious hope, it captures the butterflies and bravery of a first crush with grace and charm. Davis leans into innocence and intimacy, singing of secret gardens and handmade gifts with wide-eyed sincerity: “I bought you a bracelet, honey / Let me help you put it on.” But “Bracelet” is more than just a sweet moment; it’s a meditation on vulnerability and emotional openness. “It reflects the way I want to move through the world,” Davis explains, “which is with openness, courage, and a willingness to stay present, even when things don’t go the way I hope.” The song blooms with gentle optimism – a soft-spoken anthem for showing up, even when your heart’s on the line.
“Pellegrino” floats like a summer breeze: Laid-back, love-soaked, and glowing with golden-hour warmth. With its breezy guitars, sparkling synths, and effortless groove, the track feels like a sun-dazed snapshot of bliss – a table by the window, a conversation unfolding slowly, the light streaming in just right. “It’s a celebration of the honeymoon phase,” Davis explains, “blindly optimistic, full of passion, and savoring the beauty in even the smallest moments.” Written about the early days of his relationship with his wife, “Pellegrino” radiates gratitude and awe – not in grand declarations, but in soft, thoughtful details. It’s romantic, yes, but it’s also deeply human: A song that lets stillness speak, and reminds us how sacred the simplest joys can be.
I’m in the heart of the honey
You’re in the care of the moon
You know your way around our town
I put on like I do too
We listen to the sages and czars
Saying love will be hard
And remember your common sense
But I save all of my money
To pick you up again and
Buy another
Cooled off coffee get lost, on me
Come on I’ll look after you
We could get a table by the window
With the daylight coming
through the blinds in thin rows
Talk about whatever, say it all slow
You know that we’d be sipping Pellegrino
– “Pellegrino,” Spring Term
“Velveteen” brings the EP to a cathartic close – intimate, reflective, and emotionally explosive in all the right ways. It’s a song of uncertainty and self-examination, spinning through feelings of not-knowing with an emotional pull that’s both hypnotic and profound. “It’s dedicated to adolescence and the years of discovering music your parents never played,” Davis shares. “Stumbling into new layers of self-awareness, and not knowing what you want to do with your life.” Sonically, “Velveteen” is a lush swirl of textures: Layered vocals, glowing guitars, and subtle bursts of rhythmic intensity that build and recede like waves. The result is intoxicating – a song that invites you to sit with the confusion, even indulge in it. Its final verse lands like a revelation: “That golden sun sets / down days of innocence / and I’m still young but / not as young as I had thought I was.” It’s a lyric that encapsulates the entire EP – the ache and beauty of growing older, and the steady courage of becoming.
“There are so many I am proud of on the record, but I think the phase of life the EP is well summarized in that last verse of ‘Velveteen,’” Davis affirms.
Asked for other favorites and personal highlights, he’s quick to mention moments on each of the EP’s four songs. “The drum break and subtle lyric change of the last chorus of ‘Pellegrino,’ the pitch-shifted harmonica on ‘The Salesman,’ the first sub drop in ‘Bracelet,’ and the group vocals on ‘Velveteen’ are some of my favorite elements of the EP.”
Kiddo, Vol. 2 is the kind of record that leaves you a little brighter than it found you – not because it glosses over life’s complexities, but because it leans into them with heart, humor, and wide-eyed honesty.
It captures the strange clarity of looking backward while moving forward, and the wonder of rediscovering the world through younger eyes. Equal parts playful and profound, it’s a joy-filled, deeply human reminder that growing up doesn’t have to mean losing touch with the magic.
As Davis reflects on the journey behind the songs and the spirit that shaped them, his hope for listeners is clear:
“I hope listeners feel encouraged to explore who they are with honesty, curiosity, and a sense of play without having to have all the answers,” Davis shares. “Through exploring the different stages of my childhood, I have discovered that I actually have a lot to learn from my younger self about how I live my life today. Being willing to be learn and be vulnerable can get harder and harder with age. Creating and releasing this EP is me choosing to stay in that spirit, and hopefully listeners will be encouraged to do the same!”
Vivid, vulnerable, and full of life, Kiddo, Vol. 2 is a technicolor triumph – a reminder to stay curious, stay open, and keep listening to the voice of your younger self. Dive into the full EP below, and journey track-by-track with Spring Term’s Nathan Davis as he unpacks the stories, sounds, and sentiments behind each song.
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:: stream/purchase KIDDO VOL. 2 here ::
:: connect with Spring Term here ::
Stream: ‘KIDDO, VOL. 2’ – Spring Term
:: Inside Kiddo, Vol. 2 ::
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The Salesman
“The Salesman” is a slightly cartoonish take on the feeling of opening the door to a stranger as a kid. I wrote it during my first deep dive into some of Bob Dylan’s mid-to-late period albums (shoutout to the Jokermen podcast), right after hearing “Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts.” That song helped pull me out of my usual songwriting tone and into something more playful and grand. “The Salesman” became this larger-than-life archetype representing the kinds of promises, offers, and decisions we’re faced with while growing up, and the characters who deliver them.
Bracelet
“Bracelet” is a love song that captures the full spectrum of vulnerability, from working up the courage to make a call to accepting that the answer might be no. I wrote it about the first time I wanted to ask someone out, but it’s also about more than that. It reflects the way I want to move through the world (and through my art), which is with openness, courage, and a willingness to stay present, even when things don’t go the way I hope. Sonically, this is my attempt at getting some of my favorite Rostam-esque warped piano tones to help tell the story.
Pellegrino
“Pellegrino” is a deeply personal song about the first summer days I spent with my wife. Every musical choice from the tempo to the synth bass to the electric guitar tone is a tribute to that time and the music we had on repeat. It’s a celebration of the honeymoon phase: blindly optimistic, full of passion, and savoring to the beauty in even the smallest moments. I believe that phase of experiencing something beautiful for the first time is something God-designed, and it’s one of the most special parts of being human.
Velveteen
“Velveteen” is a song dedicated to adolescence and the years of discovering music your parents never played, stumbling into new layers of self-awareness, and not knowing what you want to do with your life. The first moment of the song feels like it’s shouting “I don’t know!”, which still sums up how I feel a lot of the time. I’ve always loved “centrifugal” art that spins you outward toward other art, and I kept that in mind while making this song. The lyrics and production are full of nods to artists who to me embody that teenage feeling of rebellion, uncertainty, and figuring out who you are.
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:: stream/purchase KIDDO VOL. 2 here ::
:: connect with Spring Term here ::
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© Claire Hensley
© Claire HensleyKiddo, Vol. 2
an EP by Spring Term
