The Kicks may have adopted a new moniker, but the band formerly known as Ashtray Babyhead unfortunately hasn't ditched the tired power-pop sound they ripped off from Weezer way back in 1997.
On their self-titled "debut," The Kicks explore the same used-up subject matter that every other doofus-rock quartet has subjected us to for the past decade:
Turning '80s hair bands into legitimate rock gods ["Pop Star Radio Crown"]; intergalactic pipe dreams ["Mir"]; and elementary-school pop culture ["Banana Seat"].
Not only is the subject matter the same wannabe-ironic stretch of material that bands like Marcy Playground, Fountains of Wayne and early Better Than Ezra served up long ago, but The Kicks themselves - ahem, Ashtray Babyhead - released this same crap back in 2000.
The Kicks is nothing more than Ashtray's Radio. That's right - The Kicks' label, XS Records, apparently saw fit to simply re-release Radio under a nice new shiny label, changed the band name, changed the album title, and expected us all to accept it as "new and innovative."
Or maybe XS simply realized that The Kicks just don't have an original thought in them - in which case, the band has found itself a happy little home, and, hopefully, a final resting place to boot.
Reach the reporter at joe.watson@asu.edu.
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The Kicks The Kicks XS Records
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