Review → The Sidekicks – Weight of Air (2009)
The Sidekicks - Weight of Air
OK, so it’s been a month since the last time we met here. I’d say we were hard at work here at GDTS Command Center, but that would be an awful lie. So instead of making excuses, I’ll ask you to forgive my laziness and jump right back into it.
The Sidekicks are a young band from Cleveland, whose debut So Long, Soggy Dog is a strong addition to the hit-factory that is Red Scare Industries. This is not hyperbole, as I personally think everything Toby releases is gold. I mean, come on, they’ve released records by Teenage Bottlerocket, the Falcon, Sundowner, the Menzingers, Cobra Skulls, and others. Quality.
So here, the boys go for the follow-up to a lauded debut. Dark voices whisper “sophomore slump.” But those voices can shove it because Weight of Air is pretty awesome.
OK, so if you’ve heard So Long, Soggy Dog, you probably want to know how it stacks up to that album. The short answer is: well. The long answer is it’s a lot different than the debut. It’s less about the manic punk energy; the boys have slowed things down a bit and focused more on melody and crafting songs that are more on the pop side of the pop-punk equation.
That’s not to say the record doesn’t have the exuberance the band has become known for; the attack is just more focused, which makes their efforts hit harder when they want it to. This is a fun, catchy, exciting set of songs. While on the first album, they kicked out some awesomely fun pop-punk, here we see the band really finding their own voice and sound, and it’s both a great listening, and really promising for the future of their output. If you want to hear a really great band as they develop their sound, get in on the ground floor and check this out!
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