1990s – Kicks
1990s’ debut album, Cookies, was one of my favorite albums if not my favorite album of 2007. It featured songs that were filled with incredibly catchy melodies as well as some clever tongue-in-cheek lyrics. Their sophomore effort, Kicks, sees this Scottish indie trio offering for the most part the same kind of instantly enjoyable material.
While their first album featured lots of fast, choppy guitar work, this time around there are a number of songs like “Vondelpark” and “59” that show the band exploring a little bit more polished, pop oriented sound. Also in addition to lead singer/guitarist Jackie McKeown, new bass player Dino Bardot contributes to the songwriting output as well as sings the slightly psychedelic “Local Science”. But for the most part, songs like “I Don’t Even Know What That Is” and “The Box” see 1990s producing the same kind of enjoyable alternative pop that was featured on their first album, and I don’t have any problem with that.
Really the only problem I have with Kicks is that the lyrics aren’t nearly as unique or clever as they were on the 1990s’ first album. But besides that, Kicks offers plenty of energetic pop songs that’ll get stuck in your head, and stay there for quite some time.
Favorite Tracks: “59”, “Everybody Please Relax”, “The Kids”