The Kickbacks
Even The Blues
Peeled Label Records

I have to admit, there's something very uplifting about putting on a record in 2009 and get the feeling that it was one you missed out on in 1988. One that could have saved your soul one of those days when you felt the music was dying there right in front of you inside the radio. So you just listened to Pleased To Meet Me all over again, if that was the mood you were in. And if that's the mood you find yourself in any of these days, you might as well give The Kickbacks a chance.

This is their fourth LP since their debut in 1998, and I'm sad to report that I haven't heard any of their previous work. I'd be surprised if someone told me that The Replacements was not on singer/writer Tad Overbaugh's top ten playlist, along with Big Star and, perhaps, Teenage Fanclub. These being three of my favourite bands, I find nothing to complain about that.

Good songs, that garage band sound and a generally laid back feeling always sits well with me. In a time when rock music is something you either stuff eight guitars to a chorus and compress the shit out of or, on the other hand, demands the name Belzebub for credibility - it's such a relief to hear The Kickbacks supplying just what the Rock Doctor ordered.

Copyright © 2009 Anders Svendsen