| Reviews -
"The Kick Inside are a Bristol-based, rockabilly influenced, straight-faced, 'hands-behind-your-back' kind of a band. Having seen them play the Moles Club in Bath last week I can safely say they are one of the strongest local outfits around. They're artful and subtle; finely-tuned, kind and gentle. Yet some how they are simultaneously sharp and clinical.
They're honestly a real pleasure to listen to.
The Jonny Marr-esque sound which the guitarist crafts is frankly sublime. It oozes sincerity and it is kind and beautiful; quick fingered melodrama at its finest. In fact, I could have just listened to him noodle for hours. The front man is also sharp, confident and lyrically inspiring.
As a collective, The Kick Inside are a tight, masterful group. Keep your ear to the ground for these guys; be sure to check them out."
- Bristol Epigram/Sam Bonham
"The first glimpse of booty comes from The Kick Inside's sta-press guitar camp: too much boom for the empty room, but artful, like a latter day Echo and The Bunnymen with Johnny Marr and bigger balls."
- Venue Magazine/Mike White
"The Kick Inside's four members were more likely to have been playing with fuzzy felt, hiding in bushes and drinking orange squash than following bands through the eighties but judging by their first demo their hearts never left.
'To Be Someone' starts out like a bar brawl between Brett Anderson and Johnny Marr. As it turns out they get on well, reliving "sex symbols" of a bygone era when drummers understood subtlety and funk was implicit. Politely refusing rather than rejecting modern culture their lyrics pine for a return to the values of black and white films and C86 bands, though chances are they'd prefer them shot in digital and played through a decent amp.
Like The Wedding Present without the feedback 'Because Of Her Sex' flows with Morrissey's Charming Man era delivery from a heart of second wave feminism. Tied up in a guitar line both rockabilly and ornate, the song skips along in a defiant sadness that's wonderfully anachronistic while sounding fresher than the heap of supposedly new music flooding HMV and the NME. If a Smiths reunion ever happens, and it never will, then a song like this would definitely justify the wait.
Finishing the demo 'Of Love and Flesh' is reminiscent of one of the less 'twee' Sarah Records releases. It's a summery Field Mice song about "bike(s) without wheels" and leaving irons on, very mid 80's southern England. It's completely out of touch with the current Gang of Four influenced indie scene and is all the better for it."
- Drunken Werewolf Magazine/Chris Glynn
"learned, expertly crafted guitar-pop that nods quietly to c86 jangle-pop and cherry red"
- Lofi-Hifi
Just before Christmas I managed to sneak into the Cooler for a night of musical frivolity, huddling for warmth round the neon lights of the oversized stage, to watch Bristol-based The Kick Inside. This is the second time I have seen this outfit, and this time around they were so much better. Although I most definitely did enjoy their catch-me-if-youcan guitar lick and soaring vocals the first time round, during this festive performance they surpassed any previous expectations I had of them.
They have some kind of musical awareness that is lacking in most modern day 4-pieces.
They don't follow the same predictable cadences and rhythms, they avoid comfortable vocal expression, and they move like something else. Their wheels just keep on turning. As I was snuggling closer and closer to some unaware Bristolian attempting to de-ice my fingers, I really felt that this was The Kick Inside in all their glory.
I am convinced that the Kick Inside would shatter expectations in front of any crowd. So, I am hopeful that they'll be playing sometime soon, for there is at least one fidgeting student desperate to catch them again - desperate to catch the whirling fire of the Kick Inside.
- Bristol Epigram/Sam Bonham
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