Again I need to ask the question, why is no one giving The Sidekicks any love? Their new album Weight Of Air is simply brilliant and a huge step forward for the band. Over the course of just one full length and a 7″ the band’s sound has changed significantly enough that it might be hard to recognize them as the same group that released So Long, Soggy Dog back in 2007. The quartet (from suburban Cleveland) has ditched most of the rough edges and standard-issue pop punk affectations of their early material and ratcheted up the rootsy folk underpinnings. Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed their Sam 7″ and So Long, Soggy Dog, but Weight Of Air blows those records out of the water. Instead of reminding me of (say) The Loved Ones, The Riot Before, or The Gaslight Anthem, The Sidekicks now sound more like Uncle Tupelo and/or (more specifically) like a punked up version of Okkervil River.

From the initial off-key acapella harmonies of the opening song you know something is different. The guitars are more jangly than crunchy, the pacing is more rock than punk though there is a fair amount of peppy punky foot-tapping rhythms. The songs are simple and straightforward with little in the way of extra ornamentation but the songs are so heartfelt and so catchy that anything more would have been overkill. Weight Of Air has that earnest Midwestern/heartland rock sensibility and it just sounds right. Without question, this is one of the best albums of 2009. Just listen and I’m sure you’ll agree. Weight Of Air is out now Red Scare.

MP3:
The Sidekicks - A Healthy Time
The Sidekicks - Almost The Same

Related posts:

1. Review: The Sidekicks – So Long, Soggy Dog
2. The Sidekicks – Sam 7″
3. Review: The Weight – Are Men
4. Review: Denison Witmer – Carry The Weight
5. Review: Anderegg – Falling Air (or) no image available