The Kickliner are a British three-piece said to be influenced by Bright Eyes, Oasis, The Beatles and U2, although to be fair they sound like none of those bands. Primarily an acoustic act with some slightly louder aspects at times, ‘Arcadia’ is a six-track EP that really doesn’t have too much of a lasting impact. While the ideas are all there – in particular the EP’s title track, which has all the right elements – the actual execution is pretty poor. The vocals are wishy-washy and, to be honest, there’s no conviction at all. I don’t believe anything he sings and if there was more feeling and emotion in his voice I’d be inclined to like this record a bit better. All too often though, the ideas are a bit borrowed and obvious and there’s nothing special to make it stand out. As I said, the title song, while a little long, suggests the band can write a tune. It’s just practice makes perfect – and The Kickliner need to do some more practicing before they hit the heights they clearly believe they can reach.
