Shit! This is something I should like. Look, The Kicks' publicity machine compares them to the likes of Fountains of Wayne (who I clearly dig) and Foo Fighters (another fave or yours truly). And I guess I can kind of hear those influences. Uh... maybe. Well, not Foo Fighters. At all. But I digress.

So why did I use the "s" word and say I "should" like it at the start of this review? I don’t know! This album, Hello Hong Kong... it’s all competently done. It’s hooky. I’m listening to the rockin' power-pop, but, well, I’m not even hearing it! It’s totally in the background. It’s so damn generic to me.

Instead of Fountains of Wayne, I would’ve compared them to blander fare like The All-American Rejects or American Hi-Fi. Not really bad bands, either-- though, curiously, both use "American" in their names, which is suspect. The Kicks are just uninteresting and uninspired to my floppy listening ears.

But, to end this Reading Rainbow-style: "Don’t take my word for it." Go to their site, and sample some of the tunes yourself.