Almost unanimously, reviews of White Rose Movement's "Love Is a Number" appended the exact same disclaimer to their kudos-- this is as good as the band gets. Buzz surrounding the band stalled despite the single's acclaim, yet the anonymity only fueled its 1980s time capsule mystique. Vis-a-vis "Love Is a Number", Kick deflates the band's nostalgic value, much in the same way an hour-long documentary on Stuart Goddard's battles with mental illness would detract from Adam Ant's music. Flagrantly molding a hit single from parts of heavily-trampled touchstones seems fine, thanks mostly to its outright catchiness. Dragging the listener through an album's worth of emotional trials and tribulations, on the other hand, feels all been-there-done-that, unable to sustain the band's endearing over-the-topness.
Almost every track on Kick plays up a handful of electro-80s tropes, and credit's deserved for the band not trying to mask their influences á la most self-aware dance-rock revivalists. The mopey title track kicks off the album with a cross-section of goth rock artillery-- quickened quarter notes on the bass pedal, churning bassline, frigid synthline, and tortured vocals enter in staggered succession, a dolled-up version of the Cure's "The Figurehead". On "Pig Heil Jam", frontman Finn Dyke's vocals dissolve in an electrical storm of synth and guitar squall, one of the album's several attempts at recreating early Human League's signature sci-fi vocal pastiche. While the homage comes off respectful, chic UK producer Paul Epworth pulls out all the stops. "Girls in the Back" knows no subtlety as gauche instrumental hooks gorge every second Dyke's silent, and nearly every track here features a faux-trance breakdown where everything cuts out except the electronic drums and a few beeps.
Fact is, White Rose Movement's "electro-clash" 80s sound basically candy-coats Nine Inch Nails industrial and metrosexualizes the lyrics, making Kick pretty redundant. "Alsatian", for example, barrels through the verse on one chord, piling on vocal effects and synth squelches until reaching (ta-dah!) a chorus with two chords and the same sonic baggage. Tackiness aside though, the band displays a knack for hooks, even if many of them run about as cheap as "Sunglasses at Night". White Rose Movement may emit a nice turn-back-the-clock charm, but Kick commits the classic mythological errors-- it's Prometheus reintroducing new wave before strapping on wings and flying too close to the sun.
