6th January 2021

Review: “No Puppets” by Kick Me Out

Is it possible to have a classic punk sound, combined with Metalcore influences? Female fronted quintet Kick Me Out certainly believe it is. Resurrected from the ashes of previous project Deadman’s Switch, trio Leander van Bijnen, Fons van Wegen and Boudewijn Jansen found Nienke Schimmel and Rowan Maris to round out their lineup before releasing first single “Falling From The Sky”. Looking for a new meaning for modern punk and citing influences as wide ranging as Green Day, Tonight Alive, A Day To Remember and Asking Alexandria they look to create something that is dance-able, sometimes down beat to mosh to and make you sweat.

The Pop Punk sound of “Say Something” is pretty standard fare with classic Celtic style gang chants and some driving riffs that would happily make its way onto a Drop Kick Murphy’s album and while you’re sitting comfortably, drinking your pint and thinking about the girl next door, at the end of the second minute something happens that turns your World upside down. The drums kick up a faster pace and then out from nowhere Leander van Bijnen lets out a bloodcurdling scream that ushers in a Metalcore breakdown before a final verse. Before you can say ‘what the f*** just happened?’ at such an avant-garde moment, “Falling From The Sky“, the bands debut single starts to play. Following very similar Pop Punk lines, it’s a sing-a-long affair from the kind of band that goes down well at a bigger festival that appeals to a family, perfectly fine to listen to with your pre-teen daughter and safe for work while having enough sensibility to be fun and perhaps a guilty pleasure. Following the likes of Paramore into “Holding On” which has some neat guitar interplay and a decent lead moment, before the more sober and perhaps sobering post-love song “What About Us” offers up a bright, bold chorus and some surprise jack hammer double kick footwork that bolsters the sound. It’s the kind of song that you’ll find yourself headbanging or singing along to when you know you probably shouldn’t and then thinking ah, who cares, this is fun [7/10]

Track Listing