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    HM Magazine #89/The Kicker
    The Kicker — First Word, Last Place cover

    The Kicker

    First Word, Last Place

    (2001)

    Reviewed by Doug Van Pelt

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    Label Salad Dressing RecordsHM Magazine #89May/June 2001
    pop punkpower poppunk

    Go ahead and write this down: Anything Salad Dressing puts out is quality. Watch, now the label will get all arrogant, stop listening for something new, and start signing bands they feel sorry for! (Let's hope not!) The Kicker spanks out pure pop with a romping punk rock swagger. It's all good. And you'll love the wit, as in songs like "The Drummer," which urge the listener: "Someone shoot me. I'm a geek!" It's all fun 'n' games, but the band still finds a way to slide in some biting commentary. The song "Hate The Poor?!" proclaims that "You can never make everything all right. But you can get involved in changing one life. Your own."

    Other coverage for this album

    Something for Nothing #53Reviewed by Idypretty decent music bordering between pop punk and slowish power pop. some of this reminds me of early man dingo, while other songs are somewhat bracket-ish (well, not nearly that good, of course). the melodies are nice, and the songs are memorable. i kind of don't like the vocals, but they're decent, i suppose. it's mainly slow to mid-tempo, but there are a few faster cuts, which i think are the…The Phantom Tollbooth 2001Reviewed by Brian A. SmithAt first listen, I was ready to dismiss The Kicker as just another pop/punk band that sounds like everything else on the radio, without anything that would make them stand out. Not bad, definitely listenable, but nothing special. Then I gave the CD a second spin. Yes, there are the usual Ramones/Green Day influences here, but First Word, Last Place has some other voices heard here, primarily in…

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    Also in HM Magazine #89

    2000MapTeaching Turtles to Fly1992T-Bone BurnettThe Criminal Under My Own Hat1999ArrivalDelayed2001Point of RecognitionRefresh, Renew2001Soul EmbracedFor the Incomplete1999FragmentedThe Emotion, Finally.