I was asked recently why I started SONIQLOOX. Well… technically, I asked myself. But the answer’s the same and simple: I wanted to share my love of music with you, and introduce bands that deserve a spot in your sonic library (learn more here). This week, I came across a band that gave me these early No Doubt vibes, dripping with pure energy and sizzle.
This is THE KIDD ELECTRIC.
California’s The Kidd Electric fuse indie rock grit with a rockabilly pulse and a touch of spooky, atmospheric guitar work. Fronted by Cyn Electric and rounded out by Matt Hopf, Danny Balboa, and Angel Montes de Oca, they’ve spent over a decade shaping a sound that draws from Mother Mother, Metric, Arctic Monkeys, and more. Their debut EP Sonic Bloom is fueled by sharp hooks and raw, lived-in lyrics. From Vans Warped Tour Vegas to opening for No Doubt, The Kidd Electric turn adversity into art—and every performance into a jolt you can’t shake.
SNQLX: The name The Kidd Electric feels cinematic and charged—what’s the story behind choosing it? Was it instinct, metaphor, or intention?
CYN ELECTRIC: The name came from a comment made by the drummer of our previous band on a video I posted a few years ago. He quite literally said, “Well done, kid electric,” (refering to my name Cyn Electric), and I loved that. When I started to write the songs, I was struggling a lot to feel inspired and stay motivated. I started to think back to when I was a kid and began to remember when the dream of being a musician started. It gave me that push I needed to remember who I was doing it for and how I knew it would be a universal feeling for my bandmates.
The Kidd Electric represents the kid in all of us that never stops dreaming, and for me, it’s that constant reminder to never give up. — Cyn Electric
And just for fun, the decision to use the double letters is a nod to the character Beatrix Kiddo from one of my favorite films, Kill Bill
SNQLX: Your lineup—Matt, Daniel, Angel, and yourself—has been the current setup for a while. How long has this formation been solidified, and how has chemistry shifted over time?
CYN: The band started with just me and Matthew, attempting to continue the band I started years ago, Noise of Rumors. He had just replaced our former drummer when the pandemic hit, and everything sort of fell apart. As I continued to write music for what was originally going to be Noise of Rumors, I realized that not only were the songs taking on a whole different genre, but the emotion and energy had shifted, and I felt that maybe it was time for a rebrand. Funnily enough, Daniel, the guitarist I originally started NoR with (a decade ago), asked to join the band, and although I hadn’t seen or played with Daniel in years, we seemed to have picked up right where we left off. Angel was the last piece of the puzzle. He was originally a temporary replacement for Daniel when he had arm surgery, but we liked him and the energy he brought to the band, and asked him to join. Because of the history between most of us, we felt right at home playing together. The chemistry and the bond between us are only getting stronger over time.
SNQLX: Your debut album, Sonic Bloom, was released on April 21, 2024—did the timing or the title carry a particular symbolic meaning for the band?
CYN: The science behind the ability to increase plant growth with music has always fascinated me, and I related to it because I, too, felt like music has helped me grow in so many aspects of my life. Because I was going back to my roots and regaining inspiration to write music after the pandemic, I realized how healing it was to also go back and listen to all the music that had inspired me from the beginning. I thought about how music was fueling me in the same way it can to plants, and when I researched a word to describe this phenomenon, the term “Sonic Bloom” came up, and I thought what a perfect title to an album and the experience I’m having writing it.
SNQLX: The song “Monster” resonates strongly live—can you share the emotional or lyrical spark that brought that track into being?
CYN: The song is about a relationship I was in many years ago. I felt like I never got to express or talk about my side of things. I was portrayed to be someone I wasn’t and it never sat right to me to have never cleared my name. This was my way of making things right
SNQLX: “Crave” introduces a sweeping mood—is there a narrative thread woven between songs like that and others such as “Defame”?
CYN: Crave almost wasn’t a part of the band’s music. It was the last song written of all the songs in Sonic Bloom and even when I passed it on to the band we agreed that it may or may not fit. Crave is about multiple things, one being afraid to get back on the stage and sing again after not doing so in 4 years so it became a good track to include in our debut album, regardless of its more mellow mood next to the other tracks.
SNQLX: Your music has been labeled as indie‑rock with rockabilly and atmospheric guitar undercurrents. Which bands or sounds pointed you toward that sonic territory? (I saw mentions of Metric, The Strokes, Mother Mother, Queens of the Stone Age, etc.)
CYN: All those bands surely had a huge influence on our music, but the birth of The Kidd Electric comes right after I had written some songs for Quentin Tarantino. I had an idea to create music for his final film and in doing so I was very influenced by not only the soundtracks of his films, but by the soundtracks of the films he was influenced by. I had grown up with that music and his films around the same time I was starting to write my own music as a teenager, so again, going back to my roots was a huge part of creating this band and shaping our sound. I think our sound is a timeline of my influence growin up, starting with oldies, going into spanish rock, 3rd wave ska, and early 2000’s indie bands
SNQLX: Candid lyrics like those on Sonic Bloom feel forged from real life—how does the writing process function emotionally for you? Is there healing in creating these songs?
CYN: I think for every artist there has to be. Music is our way to cope with the struggles of our every day lives. I was coming from a place where I wanted to quit music and fought to not quit by remembering where I came from and how I started. I wanted these songs to be my therapy, write about things I’ve never spoken about before, and really be as authentic as I could be. Writing in my other bands felt more like, what can we do to create the next hit, vs. what can we do to express ourselves authentically and I think that’s how and why this band and our music has resonated more with people than projects we’ve done in the past.
SNQLX: You’ve built this band over a decade—how have your goals shifted since early days of playing regionally to now putting out full-length albums?
CYN: A decade ago, we just wanted to create the next big hit and be the next big thing, and I think that’s where we lost focus of what it was to be creating music together and being in a band. Now that we’re older, our priorities are so different and focused. We all want the same thing and that’s to write good music and play it for people who resonate with it. That should always be at the top of our list. What comes after that is up to the universe to decide. As long as I get to play music with my best friends, I’ve made it, and I’m happy. Focusing on our art is our main priority and hearing people’s reaction to us after only performing for such a short time together is all the proof we need that we’re doing things right, regardless of the outcome.
“I’ve outgrown the mentality that your art’s value is measured by its success… You can’t forget that YOU are the art.” — Cyn Electric
SNQLX: Can you describe a live moment that still plays back in your mind as defining for the band’s live identity?
CYN: For me, it would be our first show. We chose to perform in Pomona as a nice middle ground for people who knew us in the Inland Empire and those in the Los Angeles area. I hadn’t performed with any band in 4 years, and Daniel hadn’t in probably 10. It was a very emotional night. But the thing that made it so special was the number of people who showed up for us. I honestly didn’t expect so many people from all over neighboring cities coming to see us and still supporting my art after all these years. Seeing past bandmates in the crowd, friends traveling from hours away, it was an incredible moment. I am so grateful for the people who show up for us, even if it’s just once. I never forget it, and I feel so lucky to be that loved.
SNQLX: If someone’s just discovering you and presses play on one track, which song from Sonic Bloom do you feel captures the essence of The Kidd Electric?
CYN: I think PDA is a good middle-ground type track. It’s not as rough as Monster and not as mellow as Crave. It has a little of everything and it sets the mood for some of the new songs we have on the way.
SNQLX: What’s next for you all? Are there any follow‑up releases (like the acoustic album noted on Spotify from 2025) or new creative directions you’re pursuing?
CYN: Eventually we’ll have a full length album out, but for now we’ll be releasing singles periodically that will be on that album. If things go as planned we should have at least 2 new songs out before the year ends.
SNQLX: Who’s a surprising influence fans wouldn’t expect to see in your sound?
CYN: I listen to a lot of soul and funk music from the 60s and 70s, ska, rock en espanol, 90s hip hop & rap. My playlists never stick to one genre and are some of the things I listen to on repeat when i’m trying to get inspired to write a song. I can go to funk for the energy, the bass riffs, the drum fills, i can turn to ska for the catchy melodies of the horn sections, rock en espanol gives me that almost moody feel to our songs that I draw inspiration from, and the rhythm of the vocals in any hip hop or rap song helps me with my own vocal rhythms as well. I definitely don’t stick to one influence for our music
SNQLX: Personal growth vs. artistic growth: what’s something you’ve outgrown, and what’s something you’re still becoming?
CYN: I’ve outgrown the mentality that your art’s value is measured by its success. I think artists get too wrapped up in the numbers, the streams, the follows, etc. All that can suck you in and make you quit before you even start. When you lose sight of why you started being an artist, you lose yourself. You can’t forget that YOU are the art. So if there’s anything I am still becoming, its myself. I’ll continue to grow as a creative and continue to become the most authentic version of myself, and doing that with my art, with our music, with this band, is more than I could ever ask for.
The Kidd Electric writes and plays for no one but their authentic selves—and it shows. Every riff, lyric, and beat carries a piece of who they are, unfiltered and unapologetic. From the first jolt of Sonic Bloom to what’s still to come, Cyn, Matt, Danny, and Angel prove that when you stay true to your voice, the right people will find it. Follow them, stream them, show up at a gig.
This is a band worth plugging into.
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