Impressive first EP
The Kickliner EP arrived at my door with a lovely little note on it. Jotted in blue biro on a single piece of folded A4 paper it said, "Hello Room Thirteen, Please review us! From, Joe (The Kickliner)." My immediate response was, "Hello Joe of The Kickliner, of course we will!" So here it is, sir.
The four song long EP clocks in at just over thirteen minutes long and overall, leaves an indelible mark with its dreamy guitar tones and sturdy rhythm section. Imagine (if you don't mind doing so) that The Kickliner is a building and not a band. The band is from Sheffield, so let's say that this building is an old steel mill. The solid drumming becomes its bricks, the regular bump and fuzz of bass is its reliable workforce and the vocals sung with a regional lilt are its molten steel. This means that the chop and crunch of rhythm guitar mixed with the treble-y pickings on lead is akin to the dazed, woozy feeling you get when you work in a factory filled with steam.
Elongated metaphors aside, The Kickliner EP is four choice cuts from a solid band producing their own brand of elephant-like dream rock. Recommended tracks from the EP include Accident or Design and Paper and Grass but all four tracks plus more recent releases can be heard at the band's soundcloud page - www.soundcloud.com/thekickliner.