KIX

The latest band in a seemingly constant flow of acts to resurface from classic rock's heyday is Kix. A new name on me, this Maryland bunch, apparently, released their last studio album back in 1995 before officially splitting a year later. 2003 saw four of the band's original members reunite, along with newcomer Mark Schenker on bass, although it's taken them over a decade to write, record and release any original material, and here it is in the form of 'Rock Your Face Off'. Oh dear... that title carries with it the stench of cheesy expectations. And the expectations of cheesy oeuvre are made more emphatic by song titles such as 'Dirty Girls', 'Love Me With Your Top Down' and 'Rock & Roll Showdown'. Everything points towards anachronistic bathos, and both the anticipated cheese and antiquated rock nostalgia are delivered in abundance in each and every song. In their favour, at least Kix have dressed up and delivered their 2014 guise with not an ounce of pretension. However, this is inescapably hard rock cheese of the sonically fetid variety. With clichés rife throughout, it's a fair presumption that Kix were originally innovators of such; although, in 2014, their music just sounds like a misjudged anachrony, with little that helps them stand out from the current hard rock resurgence whereby every band and their dog seem to be releasing music pastiched from the 80s. Having said all that, 'Rock Your Face Off', despite its derivative (and, I'm guessing, self-derivative) underpinnings, is actually quite a fun listen, well produced, and competently performed suite of tracks. Ultimately, though, there's currently way better out there within the hard rock genre so whether this will appeal to those beyond longtime Kix supporters after a nostalgic kick will remain to be seen.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

earMUSIC

Album

ROCK YOUR FACE OFF

Review by Mark Holmes

RUNNING TIME:

55:24

RELEASE DATE:

25th August 2014

TRACK LISTING

1) Wheels in Motion; 2) You're Gone
3) Can't Stop the Show
4) Rollin in Honey; 5) Rock Your Face Off
6) All the Right Things; 7) Dirty Girls
8) Inside Outside Inn
9) Mean Miss Adventure
10) Love Me With Your Top Down
11) Tail on the Wag
12) Rock & Roll Showdown
13) Love Pollution (Live)
14) Midnite Dynamite (Live)

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

USA

"...the anticipated cheese and antiquated rock nostalgia are delivered in abundance in each and every song."