For rock music fans like me, the 1970s happened fifty years ago but they also happened just last week. The legends of that era loom large and some of them, like The Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney, are still in the game. Logan Roy in the HBO show Succession once said about the past, “there is just so much of it.” This applies equally to classic rock.
This means that any band that wants to get into the rock ring today needs not only talent but guts because the old guys are not going to go quietly, and they play dirty. Kickstand Jenny, based in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, is a contender, the real thing. Their debut album Between the Lies (Spectra Music Group, 2023) melds classic rock influences with new energy and verve. The band knows the past, but they are moving forward.
Kickstand Jenny is comprised of vocalist Scott Foster Harris, founder and lead guitarist Preston Morelock, bassist Chris McComas, and drummer AJ Sipos. These musicians honed their skills on the touring circuit and in various earlier bands, which helps to explain why Between the Lies is so tight. Working with legendary producer Chas Sandford, the band has crafted an album that sounds big. It is bold, brash, melodic, and feels like the album of a rock band that is ready to stand in the spotlight.
The album starts with Love it or Leave It, which in the radio era would have been “number one with a bullet.” The rhythm section drives the song forward, showcasing the interplay of strong vocals and a searing guitar solo. Standing in the Doorway follows, with one of those wicked opening chords that slices right through your brain. Scott Foster Harris really brings the vocals on this one, sounding like a younger version of Dan McCafferty from Nazareth mixed with that sexy guy who used to work at the record store.
Mark Slaughter contributes vocals to Solo, the third song on the album, which has some of the best “I’m really going to break-up with you this time” lyrics heard in a long time. Never Gonna Let You Go shifts into power ballad territory, with a sweet country inflection that breaks your heart.
The songs on this album are beautifully sequenced. Songs six, seven, and eight keep the momentum going but take us in different musical directions. One More Day and Death Trap have a pop punk flavor, while Take Me Back to the Time has a hint of prime-era U2 as the guitar wraps around the vocals to lift the song into the air.
Which brings us to track nine. When I first looked at the song list on this album, I was surprised to see Jumpin’ Jack Flash included. Not everyone loves The Rolling Stones, but those of us who do see this song as holy writ. You can still find the original video version on YouTube, wherein Mick Jagger looks demonic in his bare feet and Keith Richards invents the template of Rock Star. This song hit the airwaves like the rock-n-roll equivalent of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid robbing a bank.
As track nine approached, you could feel the stakes rising. And then I heard the opening chords and thought, “we are in good hands here.” Rather than confront the song head-on, the band makes the brilliant move of first slowing it down. This lets them foreground the blues influences that wind through the original song like a snake camouflaged in the grass. They’ve taken a classic and made you hear it anew, which I honestly did not think was possible. When it kicks into overdrive at 2:20, Kickstand Jenny has firmly won you over and proven their chops.
Only Love Can Break Your Heart, with an appearance by Jim Riley of Rascal Flatts, ends the album on an appropriately bluesy, raw note. All up, this album stands on its own musical merits while acknowledging the heavy weight of the past. The band takes influences drawn from country, blues, stadium rock, punk, and pop and weaves them into fresh songs and sounds. I now want to see this band live and find a copy of the album on vinyl. This band rocks.
Reviewed by Amy Fletcher
