Philly’s Echo Kid began as a casual side jaunt for two members of the celebrated indie rock outfit RFA. But as that band wound down, this one started to take center stage…and expand, going from the quirky duo of singer-songwriters Brendan McHale (on bass) and Christian Turzo (on guitar) to a robust four-piece with drummer Alec Powell and guitarist Will Loftus, and further still to the expansive seven-piece that performed in WXPN Studios this week.
Rounded out by vocalist / percussionist Santina Renzi-Jones, keyboardist Alex Gigliotti, and percussionist Michel Do, Echo Kid’s spirited songs evoke a long legacy of classic psychedelic pop and rock; The Monkees to The Kinks to The Velvet Underground (dig the Loaded energy on “I Try”) all the way up to Belle & Sebastian (“Take It As It Comes” could be a Life Pursuit B-side). But they don’t do it in a posturing way in the slightest; you can tell these musicians are drawing on music they sincerely love, pulling inspiration from timeless songwriting, and finding a way to make it their own.