(Boulder, CO) February 4, 2022 – The four-man indie pop band from Boulder, Colorado, have finally released their debut album. Ladies and Gentlemen, Kick and the Hug takes familiar, nostalgic, and memorable sounds from the 19th century that we all know and love, and put their own spin and energy to it. The overall sound of the album is much like Bon Jovi, U2, and Bryan Adams.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Kick and the Hug is a 10 song album that starts with high energy songs and ends with lower energy songs with deeper meanings behind them. You get an upbeat pop rock song in “Girl You Changed” about a dedicated fan, from when a band is irrelevant to when they are big stars, juxtaposed with songs like “Dead Mom” which is a story about a conversation with a mother about coming out, and how he thought she might react to the news if she were alive.
The album is unexpected and versatile. They seamlessly transition from get-off-your-feet music to “feel every piece of this” music, all while keeping the delicacy of their style and sound grounded.
Doug Murray, lead singer and guitar player for Kick and the Hug, says this of Ladies and Gentlemen, Kick and the Hug:
“When I first heard the term dad-rock, I was a little turned off by it. It seemed to be used in a negative connotation…a way to describe guys that were too old to be making relevant music. It seemed the music was dated just by association to the word. Well, I’ve recently learned (smirk smirk), that it’s a code word, for a tribe of people that dig all sorts of music, love live shows, and don’t box themselves in with genre specific playlists. They’re guys AND girls that make music a big part of their life. They hold onto the stuff they were brought up on. They support those bands from yesteryear, but they also seek out new music that qualifies to sit alongside those songs they cherish.”
Doug continues, “And I have to tell you, when I heard this, there was a sigh of relief on my part. I mean the description the guy was giving was much more in depth, but it just convinced me that there are ears out there that will embrace Ladies and Gentlemen, Kick and the Hug, and we can’t wait for them to hear it. KNTH is #dadrock to the core. So many influences it would blow up a phone. This is one of those albums that had to be made. All circumstances were working against us. I mean ALL of them.”
He goes on to say, “There was a little fate in play when we met Tyler (Skye, guitar, producer). I found him online when I was fanboying over a song that had just been posted (The Idea’s, Gucci Bag) that he had produced. When we connected, it became pretty evident that he was going to make the record. I told him we wanted to make something as good as Bon Iver, Band of Horses or The National. He was like, ‘sure, yeh, are those bands?’ After two years of fighting for it to exist, we’re super stoked to finally push this thing out into people’s ears. Do you like Ween, Wilco, Phish, AC/DC, Yo La Tengo, The Feelies, Fountains of Wayne, The War On Drugs, Band of Horses, Wet Leg, Willy Nelson, Kamasi Washington, The Beastie Boys? Well, if you answered yes to all of the above, you’re probably gonna dig this record.”