More Kicks - Punch Drunk CD

Dirtnap / Stardumb (2022)

Your eyes do not deceive you.  This is a CD as it was sent to me to check out and write about.  So check it out I did.  I actually have the first More Kicks record that came out in 2019, but I really didn't remember it.  I listened to it back when it came out and then it just vanished into the collection and wasn't anything that had much staying power for me.  It's not that it wasn't good, looking back on what I wrote about it back then was positive and it even snuck into my top 10 records of that year.  It just didn't stick with me for whatever reason.

I feel like this new album might have a similar fate.  It's very obviously good.  Maybe bordering on great.  The hooks are there, the vocal harmonies are delightful and the general vibe is pretty much the sort of thing I enjoy listening to.  Do you like The Resonars?  This is probably better as it's more straight forward.  Do you dig The Cute Lepers?  I can't imagine you not liking this as even though the songs aren't quite as maniacally fast, they have a lot in common.  Do you appreciate the vocal stylings of Wiz from Mega City Four?  This might be the closest thing I've ever heard.

Even with all of those supremely favorable comparisons, the record is just not hitting me as hard as I feel like it should.  On paper, it's perfect.  Listening to it, there's just a little something missing that I cannot put my finger on.  Perhaps it's just me.  Maybe I need to spend more time with it.  Maybe I'm just getting old and stuck on the older bands from my youth.  Maybe some of the pressures of everyday life aren't allowing me to be in the right sort of mood to really enjoy this for what it is.  I can't say I know for sure.  It's a bit of a puzzle that I can't crack.  All I can say is that this is a really, really good power pop record.  I just don't know if I need another one of those right now.

More Kicks - Punch Drunk:
https://dirtnaprecords.bandcamp.com/album/more-kicks-punch-drunk

More Kicks - S/T LP

Dirt Cult / Snap / Beluga / Wanda / Adrenalin Fix (2019)

We've got another late entry into the 2019 record list sweepstakes, creating havoc for me as I try to put together my best of list.  This is one of the reasons why I always wait until a day or two before the end of the year to post my list.  There's always a few records that I end up getting at the last possible moment.  When a record is as good as this More Kicks album is, I absolutely do not mind the list disruption.

What a great power pop record this is, reminding me right away of the less frantic moments of the Cute Lepers at times.  There are so many tremendous hooks and vocal melodies throughout the album.  They are on display during the more uptempo numbers like "What A Mess You Make" and "It's a Drag" just as much as they are on the more subdued "You Left A Stain On Me" and "Ain't That Just The Way."  There are moments where I get the same sort of feelings as I get when listening to early Ted Leo and there are other times where I'm positive this is straight up Mega City Four worship.  No matter what references I hear hints of, I'm always in the moment and digging what More Kicks are laying down.

I feel like I listened to a lot of bands in 2008-2010 that straddled that line between garage, power pop and pop punk.  Over the decade, I feel like most of those bands drifted too far into the garage territory for me.  There used to be a sweet spot for me and I haven't heard a band hit it like More Kicks has with this record in many years.

More Kicks - S/T:
https://dirtcultrecords.bandcamp.com/album/more-kicks