Customer Reviews

The Trial of the Century

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

From my blogspot site "The Boy Reviewer"

I'm not sure why this record isn't being played everywhere. I picked it up last summer and it's been at the top of my heavy rotation playlist ever since. The French Kicks have never made a bad record, but they have never made one quite so good. The Trial Of The Century finds the Kicks exploring new territory, venturing further away from the raw Marcata sound that characterizes their earlier records. The main difference? Harmony and Melody. This is an album that you want to sing along to.

The album opens with "One More Time," an urgent piece of indie-pop gold, driven by a pumping circus organ flanked by a Korgis-esque synth and a throbbing bassline that prods the song onward. The title track is another gem: a sincere, almost duotonic edxample of elegance in simiplicty. "Following Waves" and "Oh Fine" are other noteworthy tracks, beautiful for their directness.

But there aren't any tracks here that don't deliver the goods. The French Kicks don't mess around on this record. The songwriting is superb. The sounds are clean and interesting for the almost old-fashioned lack of special effects. There is no posing, no deliberate snarls, no pointless or intentional obfuscation, and no riding on the coattails of hipper, older, proven cult heros or revisited fads. The Trial Of The Century works for itself. The French Kicks have arrived.

the french kicks seem to have taken an easy left turn from their previous releases and, to their credit, have managed to cross several genres while maintaining certain themes such as richly layered sounds and clever vocal interplays. smooth as butter, this album will leave you dancing and loving and laughing and crying all at once. to listen to this album is to love it - good luck trying to take it off of the stereo.

If you check out the samples you may think its okay. Get the album, have the patience to play it on repeat 5 times. You'll like it a lot. Listen to it 10 more times, you'll love it. Another listen will turn into 20, 30, and you will realize how beautifully woven this album is, and how talented these guys are. Instant gratification is one thing, but it feels so much better when you've listened to an album so many times and one day you just "get it". I got it, and I haven't stopped listening to the album since I bought it in May. Buy this album.

very good music...i had only heard the song "One More Time" before buying this cd, and normally i only buy a cd after i've heard most of the songs on it, and i wasnt dissapointed. damn its good! i keep listening to it over & over. i'm not good at describing music and who/what they sound like. its just good, catchy, honest music. dont sleep on it!!!

(...)

go listen to that song, and if you like it, you should enjoy the rest of the album.

I love this album. Each song is unique (not an easy feat in itself) and well crafted, and the album is really a joy to listen to.
Do yourself a favor, and listen to it!

It took French Kicks 4 years, 2 eps, and a previous full length to turn down the volume and finally produce a truly superb album. But at last, these NYC boys have arrived! Trial Of The Century is a hip, pulsing, indie pop masterpiece. It shows that the band has discovered melody, and that they can be even more compelling than on earlier efforts with the subtler grooves and dancier tempos found here (even if indie rock kids are too cool to dance). I realize that 04 isn't even half over, but this may end up being my favorite record of the year.

I honestly didn't think the French Kicks could possibly top their first album 'One Time Bells' and I'm glad to say I was wrong. On 'Trial of the Century', the songs are much more melodic and have a greater range in emotion. I'm sad Nick gave up his position as singer AND drummer (leaving the ranks of the great Phil Collins) but he is still a brilliant songwriter. Each song wrenches with emotion and has such a repeat listening factor that it almost makes you sick. The slower melodies and in depth lyrics make this album even better than the first. Awesome record.

It truly isn't a bad album.

I became a French Kicks fan officially during this last Spring Break. It took a while for One Time Bells to grow old...in fact, such didn't even happen until about last week. Anyway, I checked the band's website for the first time ever just a few days before the release of 'Trial of the Century'. I got excited, boy howdy!

As this review began, the album isn't bad at all. However, I often get the feeling I'm listening to the same song over and over. I guess some songs lack a distinguishing characteristic (this is very arguable, though).

To step away from the negativity, I should mention I was quite proud of this album. A few songs had guitars in the background that instantly made me think of The Walkmen (another band, also out of NYC I believe, that rawks buttox). I'm a ginormous fan of their first album, and so having the thought of the French Kicks taking a step in such a direction was uplifting.
Also, it seems the French Kicks use a bit more sound effects in this one (not sure how else to put it-- I'm a music review n00b); a little more digital than their previous selves, if that makes any sense.

It's worth your bucks, but it ain't no gee golly One Time Bells.

I had to listen to this a couple of times, but I'm hooked now. All of its accessible and some of it quite engaging. Not a new sound, but refreshingly different than the NY garage revival stuff that's so popular. It's part electronic and part singer-songwriter style. At their best on "Only So Long", its what Jeff Buckley might have sounded like had he been part of Death Cab for Cutie. Also similar to For Stars.

I hate comparing bands or describing what they sound like. It bugs me becuase every other band sounds like Pink Floyd or The Cure. If you like formulaic sub-pop indie rock with lots of piano then you will like this album. I saw them in DC last weekend and they are very tight live. Excellent show. The dude with the spotlight review was pretty much right. This is very controlled and restrained rock. Very catchy and very hip. Hipsters love these NY boys. I disagree with that spotlight review becuse One Time Bells was very mellow as well. I dont know which one I like more but I'm leaning toward the last one. Nontheless, buy this album, it will make you happy and it will probably make you sing along, just do it alone. These vocals arent for amateurs. I know, from experience.