Don’t Lose Your Childlike Wonder: Spring Term Releases EP “Kiddo Vol. 2” that Reminds Us of Where We Came From

PHOTOS BY CLAIRE DORISE

Spring Term makes music that resonates like a breath of fresh air. Intertwining refreshing production styles with catchy lyricism and melodies that get stuck in your head, it’s hard not to dance along to the revitalizing beats weaved into every corner of Spring Term’s music. 

Nathan Davis, the mastermind behind the project Spring Term, believes wholeheartedly in the forgotten art of fun. That’s apparent in his latest EP Kiddo Vol. 2, releasing May 30th, 2025. The highly anticipated EP is smothered in joy, and it’s the perfect soundtrack for the best summer ever. 

“I want to have as much fun as possible with my music, and on stage playing live,” Davis said in an interview with Pleaser. “I’m pretty high energy when it comes to music, and I’m always jumping around on stage, which is weirdly kind of not my personality day to day, but when I get on a stage, I just want to have fun. A lot of my music is really joyful sounding, and I don’t want to shy away from that.” 

For Davis, music is much more than something to listen to, it’s an experience that brings people closer together. From the production room to the stage, Davis makes sure to consistently keep in mind how his audience will interpret the music he creates. He takes time to come up with witty lyricism, influenced by his childhood and reimagined through creative writing. All in all, Spring term is a project that is supposed to reconnect listeners to their inner child, sparking that innate joy felt before adulthood. 

The Salesman, the first song on Kiddo Vol. 2, is a perfect example of Davis’ playful, childhood-based storytelling. Loosely based on an accidental run-in with the cops after mistakenly calling 911 as a child, The Salesman creates a narrative that’s relatable to those who might have felt the imposition of unwanted figures in their lives. 

“The police almost, like, broke down my parents front door because they thought an emergency was happening. So that was the start,” Davis said. “So yeah, that was the original concept of the song. But then it became a song about people coming up to the door that aren’t invited, and then the thought of a salesman came in, and I was really digging it.” 

As a fervid Bob Dylan enthusiast, Davis toys around with the idea of fictional characters that are like giant representations of huge concepts. That was sort of the backbone of The Salesman, creating a figure that represents a larger concept that connects back to one event that happened in Davis’ childhood. 

“What if the salesman is just like what you think of when you’re a kid, and like, somebody comes knocking on the door trying to get a hold of your parents to try to sell you something, and this person is just like this big imposing figure,” Davis explained to Pleaser. “It started with the police coming to the door when I was a kid, but then I just blew up that concept.” 

Produced fully in Davis’ home, Kiddo Vol. 2 is a project that’s musically very sample-based, recorded and re-recorded and edited to create a sound similar to that of Goth Babe or Yoke Lore, who Spring Term actually opened for in his hometown of Indianapolis. Spring Term’s atmospheric, dreamlike sound creates a sense of adventure within his music. There are nothing but good vibes and warm, summer feelings attached to Spring Term’s production style, seamlessly fusing together imaginative visuals and sonic storytelling to create something truly magical. 

For Spring Term, growing up is all about self discovery. Sometimes growing up can be scary and intense at times, but it’s also in many ways a gift. There’s a beauty that comes with experiencing the same life events at the same time as other people in the world, and Davis’ optimistic attitude towards connection makes his live performances truly special. After the pandemic, Davis really decided to view live music as a gift where we can all dance, sing and experience life together. 

“Sonically, I want to be okay with having fun. I struggled with that a little bit at first, like if I’m always optimistic in my music, does that mean I’m not as authentic?” Davis said. “But then I realized that wasn’t the case. I’m still talking about things that are important to me, or things that I’m struggling with, I’m just talking about them in a different way and expressing them musically in a way that’s a bit more joyful. That’s the kind of stuff that’s on my mind when I’m writing, producing and playing live, but it’s also mainly just having fun with my music. If these songs sound sunny, it’s like I can bring joy to the stage and give people something beautiful to experience together.” 

Spring Term has found a way to bring you back to the sounds of your childhood while listening through Kiddo Vol. 2. It’s reminiscent of vacations to the beach with your family, swinging on the swingset at recess after a long and tiring day in kindergarten, running around in a sprinkler or building castles out of Lego sets. There’s a sense of childlike wonder embedded in Spring Term’s latest project, and it can be felt within yourself at eight years old almost as it can be at 22. 

“I want people to interpret these songs with their own selves in mind, and their own childhoods in mind. That’s kind of the point. The more I thought and thought about it, the more that I realized that I wrote these songs from super personal places in my life, but I want that to be something that actually encourages other people to learn from their younger selves and remember where they came from.” 

Kiddo Vol. 2 releases on all streaming platforms Friday, May 30th. It’s a must listen for fans of indie rock, dreampop or childlike wonder.