White Rose Movement – Kick
White Rose Movement are Jasper Milton (guitar), Finn Vine (vocals/guitar), Taxxi (keyboards), Owen Dyke (bass) and Ed Harper (drums). “Kick” is their debut album and it was produced by the one and only Paul Epworth. The band fuses synths, keyboards, and guitars to make their sound, but not in a deeply cheesy way like some.
“Kick” starts off the album in a fiery way. It is not as dance-y as their previous single; it’s a bit of a dark and evil track. The back up vocals are simply gorgeous. “Girls In The Back” and “Love Is A Number” follow and are both solid dance pop songs that will get the kids moving. They have all the ingredients, silly lyrics and a very danceable sound. “Alsatian” is an interesting one, it’s very guitar oriented. It is one of the better tracks on here, the cheesy lyrics aren’t as blatant and its got some great power riffs. The first half of the album is rather strong, but things turn a little south on the second half. “Pig Heil Jam” and “Deborah Carne” do very little to ignite the listener. “Idiot Drugs” is saved because of the breakdown where Vine and Taxxi go back and forth rather provocatively.
“Kick” is a well produced album thanks to Paul Epworth’s touch. It starts off so strong, but that last half of the disc just loses it. But there is a soft spot for “Idiot Drugs” in me. If you were fans of the previous singles nothing should take you away from this. But others should tread carefully.
By John Siwicki
