Bigger on the Inside

The French Kicks were a band that I got into 7 or 8 years ago by accident when I saw them play a really small hall in Peterborough. They really lit up the room for me, which led me to get hold of everything that I could by them. They had an edgy post punk sound that really spoke to me, it had such a quirky charm. Then I sort of forgot about them. I thought that they had spilt up or something. It seems that they are indeed still together and I was excited at the prospect of reviewing a new album by them. I was to be disappointed.

The trouble with not keeping in touch with old acquaintances is that they sometimes move on without you. They grow and form new opinions, new tastes, and new ways of expressing themselves. Then, when you finally catch up with them, they are barely recognisable. You find it hard to really fully get what it is that they mean. You forget what it was that you saw in them in the first place.

[From The French Kicks: Swimming - PopMatters Music Review]