Metascore
65

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 16
  2. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. Mojo
    60
    Kicks may take its leads from The Rolling Stones, David Bowie and Orange Juice but these songs about Glasgow and girls still manage to invest the skinny-tie shuffle with some fresh contemporary verve. [Apr 2009, p.98]
  2. Q Magazine
    60
    1990s show more ambition on the follow-up. [May 2009, p.107]
  3. Under The Radar
    60
    They retain much of the glam rock frivolity and bombast of their debut, with a diaphanous bubblegum pop sheen tacked on courtesy of producer Bernard Butler. [Spring 2009, p.76]
  4. 1990s have not made a bad album, but like the decade itself Kicks never lives up to its promise and contains too many derivative and unmemorable moments.
  5. 50
    The riffs have gotten sharper and more jagged as the punch lines have grown duller and less imaginative. Minus his smart-alecky cheek, it's increasingly difficult for McKeown to hold your interest.
  6. 'I Don't Even Know What Time It Is' sums up the whole record, stranded between sublime '80s guitar-pop and the more recent smarminess of Arctic Monkeys and Art Brut.
  7. This is the problem that bands face when they go from the thrill of making the first record to the grind of having to produce something equal or better than their debut. Not too many groups can pull it off; add the 1990s to the long list of bands who have failed.
  8. Kicks is not the follow-up that "Cookies" deserved, but its handful of winning standout tracks also suggests that its predecessor wasn't simply a fluke.
  9. The album is also horribly sequenced, pushing its best tracks down after a morass of prettier, more insipid melodies had fluffed you.
User Score
7.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 5 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 1 out of 5
  1. Jul 3, 2012
    8
    A shade off of their brilliant debut, but this album is fantastic. I give it an 8 because it is not equal to their debut. It is 2/3 brilliantA shade off of their brilliant debut, but this album is fantastic. I give it an 8 because it is not equal to their debut. It is 2/3 brilliant songs that carry over the sound and fun of the first album and 1/3 filler. Full Review »
  2. CarlosU
    May 12, 2009
    9
    Superb effort!
  3. RalphK
    Apr 7, 2009
    9
    A bit more filler than the debut (a deserved 10 out of 10), but nowhere near as bad as suggested, in fact, it's brilliant. I love the A bit more filler than the debut (a deserved 10 out of 10), but nowhere near as bad as suggested, in fact, it's brilliant. I love the beefier, glossier, T-Rex sound. don't believe the hype. this record rules. Full Review »