Employing a buoyant blend of fist-pumping pop-punk and nervy indie rock that's rife with emotional discord, Chicago's
the Kickback deliver a sugar-coated sonic assault that invokes names like
Spoon,
Pixies, and
White Reaper. The idea for the group began to take shape in 2008 while singer/guitarist Billy Yost was attending the University of South Dakota. After relocating to Chicago, Yost assembled the group via craigslist ads, and by 2010 the band had issued a pair of well-received EPs (Great Self Love and Mea Culpa Mea Culpa). With a bit of wind in their sails,
the Kickback asked
Spoon's Jim Eno to produce their full-length debut,
Sorry All Over the Place, which was released in 2015 via Jullian Records. A sophomore effort, the heartbreak-themed Weddings & Funerals, followed in 2017. ~ James Christopher Monger