Kicking Bird is an alternative rock band from Wilmington, North Carolina (US), Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is their full-length debut album without a movie attached (no, we’re not going to talk about Dances with Wolves). Tom Michels (bass, guitar, vocals), Shaun Paul (guitar, bass, vocals), Shaylah Paul (keyboards, vocals), Robin Cooksley (guitar) and Greg Blair (drums) claim to have stolen chords and melodies from some of our favorite early 2000s’ indie names, who of course had also been inspired by their predecessors themselves (telling lyrics in closing track Rip Off: “He said: it sounds like Townes // I said: everything’s a rip off”), yet everything here sounds quite fresh and original in 2023. You’ll hear eleven guitar-driven rock tracks with influences from punk, Americana, 60s girl groups and power pop – energetic music with relatable stories, infectious hooks, woo-hoo’s and hand claps, and awesome harmony vocals. This just might be one of those records that future artists will be stealing from in 20 years.
