TEENAGE KICKS play the Horseshoe Friday (April 29). See listing. Rating: NNN
Don’t let their Undertones-evoking moniker fool you: Teenage Kicks are not a hip band. Though they’ll have you believe they’re out to evoke the glory days of rock and roll, the local four-piece instead hearkens back to 90s alternarock, when big, broad chord changes and arena-reaching hooks could be coated in radio sheen and still be called “gritty” and “raw.”
The debut EP’s six songs burst with post-grunge arrangements and catchy, straightforward melodies, while lead singer Peter Van Helvoort’s slightly Southern-tinged, wrenching vocals evoke Caleb Followill straining his voice to sound like Dave Grohl. Teenage Kicks aren’t rewriting the R&R playbook, but in a field often more concerned with style than substance, it’s kind of nice to see a band so unapologetically trend-shunning.
Top track: Lose Your head