Artist: The Kicks
Album: Hello Hong Kong
Label: TVT Records
Tracks: 12
Length: 42:31
Review by: Phil Nichols 

Authors Note: Some of the following may be a stretch  of the truth or possibly an outright lie. Decapolis should not be held responsible for the writer's opinions or his overactive imagination.

 

Once upon a time in a land far, far away (Little Rock, Arkansas to be exact), there lived four vivacious young lads who had an abnormal infatuation with Weezer. So one day they decided they would become a gang devoted to stalking Rivers Cuomo. They wrote him letters signed “secret admirer”; they took turns calling him just to hear him answer the phone and then they would quickly hang up and giggle like schoolgirls; they even staked out spots outside his house and took pictures of him mowing the lawn. But none of this quenched their appetite for all things Weezer. Their band-lust could not be sated. They needed something more…

 

Then one day as they were talking amongst themselves one of them said, “Hey, rather than try and satisfy our eccentric cravings, lets dissolve the stalking gang and form a band that sounds exactly like Weezer!” The suggestion was duly noted, and after a nice snack, a bike ride in the park, and a brief meeting, the guys decided that forming a band was the way to go. Now all they needed was a sweet band name. They went with the obvious choice and called themselves Ashtray Babyhead.

 

Ashtray Babyhead was short-lived. They released one album, which (as the band had intended) sounded exactly like Weezer. Unfortunately, there was little public appeal for a band whose name could quite possibly promote underage smoking and decapitation. Thus, they decided to change their name to The Kicks, which was a little more consumer-friendly. They re-released nine of the songs from the Ashtray Babyhead album, which became known (but not widely known) as the Kicks’ self-titled record.

 

Years passed. Seasons changed. And the Kicks had not released anything in awhile. So what were they to do? They re-released the same songs that they had previously released and re-released on their past albums and threw four new songs into mix. The result: The Kicks’ second “full-length” (though much of the content has not changed between the their first record and the new one).

 

One might expect that much of the Kicks’ album would reek of mediocre wannabe Weezer songs. And that contention would be completely correct. But there is a rather surprising manifestation on the disc: the new songs do not all sound like Weezer. No, it seems that in the two years between albums, the Kicks’ have discovered Brand New and the Cure and have decided to mimic their sounds as well. They seem to have kidnapped Jesse Lacey and forced him at gunpoint to do the vocals on “Pretty One”, while songs like “What Do I Have To Do?” sound like B-sides off of Deja Entendu. And the vocal hijackings don’t stop there: they stole Robert Smith’s accent! It has to be stolen because when was the last time you heard someone from Arkansas say ‘phow-un’ rather than ‘phone’? 

Overall, with Hello Hong Kong, the Kicks show a more mature side. Of course, by mature I really mean that they have expanded their parody act to include a few bands rather than the traditional one. They have crafted some nice hooks; they have written some catchy songs; their album is produced well. In fact, mediocrity aside, this is a pretty decent release. But when listened to in the context of the current music scene, Hello Hong Kong has little to offer that will separate them from the masses. If you are getting tired of waiting for a new album from Weezer or Brand New, then this should hold you over until something a little more substantial comes along- just don’t expect this to be the next Pinkerton.