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 "Long
awaited - by us - "5x45s" does what it says on the tin, allowing
us to listen to kicker's resumé to date without the usual attendant
gaps of cuing one of the singles up, playing it at the wrong speed, dropping
the needle, etc. of course, we know that's the attraction of vinyl, too,
but in these digitally obsessed times...
it's all rich and
warm, if sparsely produced, conjuring images of
analogue recording and dansette playback, motown melodies and (inescapably)the
comet gain and velocette axis which we understand is, or at least was,
represented in their six-strong line-up. kicker take guitar, bass, drums
and sixties organ and supplement them with strings or brass where necessary
to produce a sound which is undeniably an ode to the past, but that is
usually lively enough to justify their role in the present. the only exception
to the over-riding northern soul feel is probably "turning left",
which is more obviously a recording made under the influence of the tim
gane / miss mend school of archness, but that still works perfectly well.
 the
release order of the singles is also mixed up, so that the cd starts with
a bang with one of their very strongest tunes, "boy, have you got
it ?" and then hops around between both the preceding and subsequent
platters. to be honest, from their first single "get rid of him",
to the inspirational 2002 effort "no more tears" with its sparkling
exhortation to just live life - one of the very best singles of this year
- the quality control is pretty smooth, so newcomers will be treated to
a coherent whole (fans of the saturday people's album, for example, might
recognise the retro-pop sensibilities). as such, it will certainly tide
us over until single six arrives..."
In love
with these times, inspite of these times review of fivefortyfives,
October 2002
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As
you could probably surmise from the title, this is a compilation of the
band's five 7" singles; twelve songs in total. What's odd about this
singles comp, though, is that it's not chronologically ordered. But whether
they had a premeditated sequence or were just forcibly hitting the random
button for us is a moot point, as the disc works really well no matter how
the songs are ordered. This is my introduction to Kicker, though I've heard
their name thrown around many times (for example, Laura Bridge from Harper
Lee is in this band), and I must say that I'm very glad to have made their
acquaintance. Reminding me simultaneously of Fosca, Spearmint, Comet Gain
and Stereolab, this band plays really catchy, fun songs with lots of energy
and farfisa (but then again, it's hard to not sound energetic with a farfisa).
Seeing as most of the singles are out of print already, this disc is both
a great introduction to the band, as well as a complete collection of their
work to date! MTQ=12/12 Review of fivefortyfives, Indiepages,
November 2002
"Kicker
told me after the gig that they hadn’t practiced for weeks and, on
this performance, slacking does them good. The result is less polished
and more exciting, producing a musical tension that makes the set move
in unexpected directions. Maybe it was the volume of Ben’s guitar
but a number of songs were off down a country road courtesy of the Byrds
before the soul tendencies of the rest of the band peddled them back to
indie-central. The lack of keyboards is more than compensated for by the
brilliant trumpet, sounding like a full brass section, shedding warmth
and emotion on songs like Said and Done, while their treatment of Since
You Left is a page of the dictionary of soul left open as an object lesson
to fakers like Ocean Colour Scene. The set closed with Get Rid of Him
which turned into a virtual hoedown, with every member playing full-tilt
till the song comes to an enjoyably shambolic ending. A stomping evening!"
Live review, 
"It's
amazing that the band that has had the most releases on the label remains
the least known. Listening to this compilation of their five singles so
far it amazes me yet more. Why aren't this band huge?
"Bitterscene
nights at the Bassment have a brilliant reputation thanks to lively gigs
by bands like Kicker. If you were foolish enough to miss them there is some
consolation. Luckily,all indie-pendently minded hipsters can savour the
sound of Kicker on Fivefortyfives - a fine compilation of their first five
vinyl singles.