Review: The Kickback Is Back! One Song at a Time.

It’s been a couple years since we’ve heard anything new from the band, but we have some exciting news: The Kickback has started to make noise publicly again!

Currently, the group is releasing a single track of new music at a time, and after sitting with “PreshMo” and really digging into it, you can glean some tantalizing clues about where the band is headed. Singer/guitarist Billy Yost’s work as Billy Ghost has given the band a whole bunch of new aural approaches, expanding the group’s sound. From what I’ve heard so far, each of these tracks are dense constructions that reward close listening, while keeping the band’s melodic sensibility so even from a distance, the tunes shimmer with unexpected depth.

Since “PreshMo” is the first thing they’ve released in forever, the band made sure to create a video for the track that will … stick with you. Directed by Alec Basse, the video features Yost in some pretty realistically bloody and beaten up make up (almost too realistic, but Halloween is almost here so it didn’t scare me that much) as he writhes his way through a visual performance of the tune.

Hopefully this is just the beginning, so get your ears wet and strap in for a long ride.

An earlier version of this post also appeared here.