‘It’s a lovely day for a hurricane, so now go float with the debris through halls, a diplomat in boots has once pulled up your roots, now it’s a rodeo so go float’ (Cold Sweat)

Hailing from Cincinnati and sharing members with Crime Of Passing and The Drin, Motorbike return with their second full-length, Kick It Over.  The raucous, 1970s’ tinged punk rock of their 2023 self-titled debut remains in full effect, all surging guitars, shout-along choruses, and rock’n’roll strut.  Yet the band’s sound feels more fully realised now, dextrously harnessed to ensure that none of its raw-edged vitality is in any way diluted.

Proceedings kick off in suitably vigorous style with the rollicking one-two of openers Scrap Heap and Currency.  The band then prove thoroughly adept at morphing their base elements into intriguing new forms as they sweep from the quietly infectious Cold Sweat to the languidly escalating Gears Never Dry, and then the bluegrass twang of Quite Nice.

Vivid flares of saxophone and tambourine fuel the atmosphere of bittersweet hedonism.  One that is further amplified by the gruffly rasping vocals as they paint a fractured, poetic picture of life’s daily struggles, where devil may care and urgent desperation are difficult to distinguish.