Reviews

The day Red Scare releases something subpar will be a very sad one for me. They have become pretty dependable in an industry that rarely is. So, like the rest of Red Scare's roster, the following things are true about The Sidekick's debut So Long Soggy Dog: the press release was hilarious (I believe the band members were called ‘dongthrobs'), the sound quality is excellent, the album is great and the band is pop-something.

I believe I would call the Sidekicks ‘pop-hotwatermusic.' To elaborate slightly: just think of whatever Hot Water Music would sound like if they were imbedded with the pop-sensibilities of Alkaline Trio and the folksy swing of Fake Problems. I don't know why I bother with these descriptions when bands have MySpace pages, but there it is, an excellent combination if you ask me. The overlying quality of The Sidekicks is they're fun-their songs have a certain exuberance that makes them stand out. Their music is light-hearted but well-constructed and definitively genuine.

The thing is that while The Sidekicks are awesome, they're awesome in that three beer buzz way, where you get really excited over things that aren't really that exciting, like getting to the bus stop just as the bus pulls up. Looking back it was cool, but probably not worth joyful shouting or rounds of high-fives. While I listen to The Sidekicks, they're really awesome but I kind of forget about them when I'm done.

Unlike other Red Scare releases like The Copyrights or The Falcon, I don't randomly crave listens or find myself with choruses entrenched in my brain. I enjoy it when I'm listening to it, but it doesn't stick. I've probably listened to it thirty-some-odd times by now and I still can't think of individual songs. Of course you really can't complain about something you can listen to thirty-some-odd times and enjoy thirty-some-odd times, but I can. I'm a reviewer.

All impressions come down to the fact that So Long Soggy Dog is the debut album from a bunch of underage kids. The album is only 25 minutes long, and by that fact alone, can't hold up to meatier full-lengths. With a little more time, I think these guys could be the second coming of Dillinger Four. The Sidekicks are kind of like that kick ass, renegade opening act you catch at a more established band's show and follow relentlessly. The potential in So Long Soggy Dog is perhaps the highlight of the album, and I only see the band getting better.