Who Are These Weird Old Kids
2.5 Stars
The Hit Back is a Chicago duo that makes music you can snap your fingers to. Echoing electronica lulls you into a syrupy slumber, but whether it does so in a good way or not remains unclear. Keyboards and synthesizers mingle in an outcome that is pleasant and pleasurable enough. But at times, consuming The Hit Back’s melodies is like consuming a cupcake with too much frosting. If you can handle the sugar, you’ll probably like it, but if not, you may be left with a toothache and a queasy stomach.
The Hit Back’s mellow electro-rock has been likened to the slow, spaced electronic work of Kings of Convenience. This comparison holds in some respects, but The Hit Back lack the musical cunning Kings of Convenience possesses.
There are a couple of numbers that stand out among the rest. “Afternoon,” for one, with serpentine melodies and sultry notes of longing, is a song that may actually do the Kings of Convenience comparisons justice.
Several songs off Who Are These Weird Old Kids skirt along something special, but never quite make it to greatness. You may find that you spend a track waiting for some essential, culminating moment that never really comes. Perhaps, put most concisely, there is nothing outwardly bad about the album, but there is no obvious excellence either.
Listen to The Hit Back’s “Me and the Kid”:
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