1990s

Kicks

(Rough Trade)

Record Review by Alex Pudlin

Do you miss the nineties? Do you miss having money, Bill Clinton, VHS, dial-up internet, smoking in bars? Sorry, my time machine is still in need of a few tweaks, but in the meantime, I suggest giving aptly titled 1990s’ latest album Kicks a whirl. If you require deep music that offers vital insight into the human condition, then don’t even waste your time reading this review, because Kicks has none of that. Nope, this Scottish trio’s album is strictly for folks who want to buy Brit Pop Gold but don’t want their friends to say they’re out of touch with new music. And it comes as little surprise since principal songwriter John (now going by Jackie) McKeown spent his 1990s as a mainstay of the Glaswegian indie scene.

Pretty much every UK band you loved from ’96 is represented on Kicks. Oasis and Blur together on one track? Try out “The Box.” Pulp? Give a listen to “Local Science.” A song that reminds you of back when you and your friends drunkenly wasted the day Trafalgar Square, messing with the pigeons? “Giddy Up” may be right up your alley. Add to the mix some youth-driven American influences like Kiss, The Ramones and Big Star and you’ve got a consistently nostalgic album.

Indeed, as long you know what you’re getting into, 1990s' second album, like their debut Cookies, is an upbeat, catchy, Big Gulp of an album. But is it an interesting album? An original album? A pivotal album? Definitely not. Nearly every song here sounds like a song you’ve already heard in your life. This quality makes Kicks an album that’s just as easy to hate as to love. “59” has plenty of falsetto and catch phrases like “whoopsy daisy” but take away those accents and this is nothing more than some breezy lite-rock with a hugely diluted  single drop of soul. Lyrically, McKeown keeps it whimsical throughout with lines like “will you be my buddy at the zoo” on “I Don’t Even Know What Time It is” and “I’ll be a Scientologist by June” on LA-anthem “Everybody Please Relax.”

Overall, Kicks is a completely harmless album that will be probably be forgotten soon after it comes out, unless of course, any of the above descriptions fit your musical tastes. For the rest of us, a listen could be good to lift the mood on a glum day, but besides that, it’s a bit too fluffy for any serious consideration.