1990s- Kicks
5/10

Kicks is the second album from Glasgow indie popsters 1990s. Despite their name, their inspiration and sound draws more from the early part of the current decade, echoing bands such as Franz Ferdinand, The Strokes and Blur. To some extent 1990s could be described as a Brit-pop revival band, if only they were stylish enough to move beyond what was fashionable around 2001. Kicks really fails to direction itself and the band seem lost halfway between striving to be popular and focusing on a fresh new sound. Like so many other British bands, 1990s are taking the safe route; the route that follows what’s been successful in the past instead of the one that pushes boundaries and crafts something unique. So it means that the album is catchy but it also means they sound like a lot of other bands, making Kicks quite a bland and derivative listen. Positively, the album does contain a couple of hit singles. ‘Tell Me When You’re Ready’ is the best of them, with its sharp guitar parts swinging in and out making it impossible not to tap your feet. The similarities to Franz Ferdinand are very easy to make, but the song is too dense to achieve Franz’s edgy, angular dance tones. Elsewhere the band sounds like a summer fun band, opening track ‘Vondelpark’ sounds a bit like the shockingly bad Australian band Thirsty Merc, and only the chorus saves it from becoming a complete joke. ‘I Don’t Even Know What Time It Is’ suffers a similar fate, lacking structure and relying too heavily on the chorus. Take the album to pieces, reshape it, cut out much of the repetitive junk and make a mix tape.
Nick

 

Posted by Nick Fulton under Album, Reviews
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