The Kickback - Hit Piece

Employing a buoyant blend of fist-pumping pop-punk and nervy indie rock that’s rife with emotional discord, Chicago’s The Kickback deliver a sugar-coated sonic assault that invokes names like Spoon, Pixies, and White Reaper.

The idea for the group began to take shape in 2008 while singer/guitarist Billy Yost was attending the University of South Dakota. After relocating to Chicago, Yost assembled the group via Craigslist ads, and by 2010 the band had issued a pair of well-received EPs (Great Self Love and Mea Culpa Mea Culpa). With a bit of wind in their sails, the Kickback recruited Spoon drummer Jim Eno to produce their full-length debut, Sorry All Over the Place, which was released in 2015 via Jullian Records.

A sophomore effort, the heartbreak-themed Weddings & Funerals produced by Dennis Herring (Modest Mouse, The Hives), followed in 2017. Rolling Stone says The Kickback “conjures the very best parts of The Veils and The Walkmen and The Killers, writing lean, nervy songs that snarl and snap.”

– The band’s first single from Hit Piece, “Very Nice Time,” has earned more views on YouTube and online streams in a shorter time than anything they’ve released previously. Sure, those are “indie band” level numbers, but let the fellas be proud for God sakes.

– The song “False Jeopardy” went viral-ish because of its inclusion in the film To The Bone, a Lily Collins/Keanu Reeves movie about eating disorders. It hit over a million plays in 2024.

– The band’s last record, 2017’s Weddings & Funerals, earned an “A-” grade from Consequence of Sound, and reviews the band could show their parents from Paste Magazine and Pop Matters.

– Singer Billy Yost required stitches after a show in Austin in early 2025 wherein he threw his guitar, but the instrument effectively ricocheted and hit him directly in the face. As blood poured down his face, a fan in the audience passed out from the site of blood. Their review of the show, sent later via email: “I embarrassingly passed out after seeing the blood dripping down Billy’s face at the end of the show. Despite that, I had a great time & thoroughly enjoyed the set.”

– It’s the second time Yost has gotten stitches due to a music-related injury. If your sympathy is what encourages your listening to their music, hey. That works.