Midway – Kickstart Riot – 2015

Kickstart Riot was an album that It took me a while to “understand”. The best albums almost always do. That’s how I work; I need to really understand what I’m listening to before I can really appreciate it. It’s a matter of hard rock music, but hardly hardrock in the usual sense. I’d say it’s somewhere between classic bands like Deep Purple and more easy-listening FM-Rock.

I, who like solid guitar riffs, have to listen a little extra because it’s not such a prominent role that the guitarist has. It’s there, of course, all the time, and it’s not directly in the background either, but it’s not the kind of riff that you might have expected. It’s more fun to play than rock riffs. On the other hand, both drums and bass are incredibly stable, and vocals and guitar can safely lean against this wall of sound. I’m surprised that I like the bass playing as much as I do. For me, the focus is always on the guitar when listening, but not here. It’s rock and roll with a lot of joy and energy.

You can hear a lot of that in the lyrics too. Get ready for the fucking show and We came a long way from whiskey and cocaine just fit perfectly in the context! It’s nicely produced and there’s nothing overly cheerful either. Everything is present in the soundscape from the instruments to beautiful vocal overdubs that really enhance the lead vocals in places. Definitely a brilliant album in fact. That’s probably the only thing I can really praise it for. Brilliant!

Translation of a review I made a few years ago