The Kickback

Originating in Chicago, the Kickback fuse buoyant pop-punk drive with jittery indie-rock tension to create an emotionally charged, sugar-glazed assault that echoes Spoon, Pixies, and White Reaper. Singer-guitarist Billy Yost first sketched the project in 2008 while enrolled at the University of South Dakota. After settling in Chicago he recruited the remaining members through Craigslist postings, resulting in two favorably received EPs—Great Self Love and Mea Culpa Mea Culpa—by 2010. Capitalizing on early momentum, the band enlisted Spoon’s Jim Eno to produce its debut full-length, Sorry All Over the Place, issued in 2015 on Jullian Records. The follow-up, the heartbreak-themed Weddings & Funerals, arrived in 2017.