Kiddo - Band makes it OK to have fun, as this promo photo attests.

HAD KIDDO COME ALONG just a couple of years earlier than it did, it almost certainly would have been mocked into an undeserved oblivion. Indie Cleveland clung dearly, dogmatically, and perhaps too long to the doomy, aharmonic AmReppy sludge sound that dominated our '90s (before you send that letter, this writer stands guilty as charged, so just let it go, OK?). And such an unabashedly cheerful band would have been anathema. Whether it was Kiddo itself that snapped us out of it or whether it coincidentally happened along just as we finally got over it is immaterial. Either way, scales fell from eyes upon many people's first exposure — "Oh my god, it's OK to have FUN!"

The fun began in 2002 when singer-guitarist Christian Doble and singer-bassist Lizzie Wittman (ex-Tender Blindspot) recruited drummer Greg Hyland out of a conference at American Greetings, where he and Doble both worked. Doble was apparently already sitting on a pigpile of astounding pop tunes, as a debut album emerged within a year and reinforced the band's already ascendant local popularity. That popularity had as much to do with the superb interplay between Doble and Wittman's voices and their refreshingly cheery ethos as with surprisingly muscular performances that stood in stark contrast to their individual cuteness. Indeed, their best shows were sometimes so balls-out as to make the album sound almost fraudulently twee by comparison. There were plainly some hard-rock skeletons in Kiddo's closet.

Kiddo chugged along as a reliable local draw until 2005, when, in search of greener employment pastures, Doble and Wittman moved to Doble's native Detroit. (Anyone from the Greater Cleveland Growth Association who happens to be reading this, please re-read that last sentence until you break down and cry at the depth of your failure.) They kept the band going, though, now with drummer Craig Ramsey (late of underground metal disreputatta Ascension, now pulling double-duty with Kiddo and Bears).

Discussing the move, Wittman relates, "The biggest difference for us has been that the Cleveland music scene felt much more like a family to us. In Detroit, sometimes we still feel like out-of-towners. And when we play in Cleveland, we feel like we are playing at home again."

It was in Detroit that the band incubated its new album, Okay, Sweetheart, to be released at a Beachland show this Saturday (Happy Mother's Day mom, I have a really nasty hangoverÅ ). It far surpasses the debut as a distillation of crystalline pop sensibilities and the band's live brawn, augmented by the guest Farfisa of Beachland honcho Mark Leddy, and showcasing influences ranging from doo-wop and girl-group pop to Curt Boettcher to the Kinks and the Velvets. True to Kiddo form, even the lonesome ("I'm Still Alone," "Annie (Can See)") and pissed-off songs ("Mr. Virtuoso," "Neverday") are joyously buoyant. Quickies like "Julia" and "Apple Tree" feel so complete despite their simplicity and brevity you hardly realize that they're almost just fragments. And the obvious single "This Could Take Forever" (a hilarious video is online at kiddopop.com) could make the most irascible curmudgeon seriously consider buying a convertible. Okay, Sweetheart could easily become your default summer album.

As for the future of a band with a commuter drummer who's already in another busy group, Wittman says, "We are planning on doing some touring. We will probably start out with a few long weekends here and there. It's been hard to schedule a lot of shows. Bears have been keeping themselves really busy, and Chris and I did not make things any easier by moving away. But expect to see a lot more of us this summer." With Kiddo songs popping up everywhere from a Chili's commercial to Joan of Arcadia, this could prove to be a summer for them to remember.

music@freetimes.com

JERK

A Frenetic Menace

(self-released)

This Neubauten/Japanoise-inspired break-shit-and-scream-at-people band achieved transcendence almost right out of the gate a few years ago with inventive arrangements and frighteningly combative live shows. And though white noise is growing into a style so dominant in Midwestern underground music it's already a cliché, Jerk remains well ahead of the pack. The band is firmly committed to making noisy music, rather than "subverting" music with noise. A Frenetic Menace is, for the most part, aptly titled; the chaos of their performances is well represented here on tunes like "Black" and "Gale." But there's ample evidence of progress since 2004's Fuck Action. Lineup changes could explain it — the addition and departure of bassist/spasm enthusiast Eric Hughes and his replacement by ex-Roué pedal-hopper Justin Coulter have obviously left a mark. While Jerk is ultimately a genre band for a small elect that can handle this kind of stuff, it's good to know that in a milieu in which a band can easily get away with doing astonishingly little, someone around here is willing to do the hard work. — Ron Kretsch

Jerk performs with Adult. and Plasma for Guns at 9 p.m. Thursday, May, 10 at the Grog Shop (2785 Euclid Heights Blvd.). Tickets: $10.

Nathaniel Maloney

Thousand Miles

(self-released)

nathanielmaloney.com

Nathaniel Maloney's newest homegrown release, Thousand Miles, conjures up the types of sights and smells synonymous with an autumn breeze or mid-summer night campfire. His songs tell stories of love and love lost, delivering his poetic views of the world one song at a time. In "Like a Diamond," Maloney compares the individuality of mankind to the uniqueness of a diamond. Add to that a rock-solid pop sensibility and you have a tune that's as timeless as its subject matter. — Paul Kulis