Two years ago, Wilmington, North Carolina's Kicking Bird released Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, a remarkable debut album which quickly became one of my favorite indie rock releases of recent memory. 11 Short Fictions, the band's highly anticipated second album on Fort Lowell Records, finds Kicking Bird in no way succumbing to the sophomore jinx. Matching or even surpassing a great debut is a tall order for any band, but 11 Short Fictions is an absolute triumph. One of my favorite things about being into music is discovering new bands and following them as they grow. I was a fan of Kicking Bird's first album, but now I can officially call myself a fan of the band.
Kicking Bird, while very hard to pigeonhole stylistically, is a band with tremendous musical and songwriting talent. 11 Short Fictions is more ambitious than Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, but it never loses sight of what makes this band so appealing: the contrasting and complementary charms of husband-and-wife vocalists Shaun and Shaylah Paul and a melody-driven approach to songwriting which takes inspiration from everything from '70s arena rock and glam to '80s/'90s alternative rock to contemporary indie rock. As the album title suggests, each track is essentially a short story — with literary genres running the gamut from science fiction to horror to fantasy to erotica to historical romance to comics. I love that the band went in that direction yet still embraced its flair for quirky indie rock with pop sensibilities and classic rock roots. Of course the provocative dreamy pop of "What Did You Expect (with Such A Beautiful Wife)" bowled me over from the start, but there are several standout tracks on what proves to be deep and satisfying collection of songs. "Verdun," the "love story of two privileged social elites torn apart by the mis-perceived glory of war and the social constraints of Victorian England," has all the charm of later '90s indie rock and all the grandeur of classic rock. "Pardon Me (What Did He Say)" resurrects Marc Bolan to splendid effect. "Good Lighting" and the hard-rocking "Cinnamon" recall the '90s heyday of guitar heavy alternative rock. "Too Much Talking" is the sort of simple yet instantly memorable ballad that every great album ought to have.
In a world where tens if not hundreds of thousands of albums are released every year, it can be hard to get people to pay attention even if you've made something pretty special. So much great music gets lost in the shuffle. Kicking Bird, now with two exceptional albums to its name, deserves to be heard and to be recognized as one of the finest up-and-coming bands in underground music. 11 Short Fictions, which marries music to literature in a way that celebrates both, is more than worth your time and hard-earned cash.
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