Kicked In The Head

Salita (2002)

Pat

Kicked in the Head has come a long way since their start as a small ska band picked up by Fork In Hand Records of Boston, MA. Their debut album, World Domination is one of the most interesting and original sounding records I have ever heard. Their mix of traditional ska riffs, hardcore vocals, and in one song's case even a turntable, was incredible to me right from the start. On Thick As Thieves they took an even harder turn, dumping the ska sound and being more horn driven rock. On their latest effort they lost their trombone player and have decided to go in a completely new direction never ceasing to amaze me.

After losing the horns section I was never worried about the future of Kicked in the Head. Seeing them at Bill's Bar minus the horns I knew I would not be dissapointed by what Salita had to offer. And boy was I ever right! The only thing I wish they would fix was that it wasnt so damn short. Hitting hard right from the beginning with a strong bass line kicking off the energetic pop-punk "All the Way". Dont be turned off by the word pop-punk passing them off as another Blink 182 wanna-be… this is pop-punk the way it should be done. Dont expect any repetitive guitar riffs, simple drums beats and an annoying whiny voice to be gracing this track at any point.

Kicked in the Head excedes any genre that you try to put them in. When asking the band what they would describe themselves as they just answer rock. "Adrenaline fueled rock" accoring to their website's band bio. Claiming influences from bands ranging from Rancid, to Fugazi, to Jane's Addiction, to Pantera the band is capable of seemingly anything.

Ill keep this short, Kicked in the Head is a band that I have loved for a long time. They are amazing on record, but nothing compares to seeing them live, which I have gotten the chance to do twice in the last month. And they are certainly a bunch of stand up guys.