The land of American indie rock is littered with acts inspired by the Replacements – from groups whose only connection is a spiritual one, to outright clones. In principle, there’s nothing wrong with either approach. After all, the ‘Mats sound centers on strong songs powered by old-fashioned rock & roll drive – a timeless direction that doesn’t ask for or require its practitioners’ petitions before emulation. Which is a long and convoluted way of saying: when it works, it doesn’t much matter how close it is to the original.
High On Stress have the advantage (or disadvantage?) of being from the ‘Mats’ hometown of Minneapolis. But an even bigger point in their favor is that you can recognize the inspiration despite the fact that, truly, the quartet doesn’t really sound like the Replacements. Drawing not only from Westerberg and company, but also Soul Asylum, Wilco, Big Star, and healthy doses of the eighties heartland rock and nineties alt.country scenes, frontman Nick Leet writes melodic, rocking songs for adults, paying tribute to the working and emotional lives offstage and out of the bar. The tight, tuneful “House of Cards” kicks things off with melody, energy, and wit, acting like a vanguard: if you shrug your shoulders, you’ll move on, but if you dig it, you’re in for the long haul. Hopefully that’s the case, because you’ll get gems like the choogling “Time Will Tell You,” the power popping “Under the Table,” the folk-rocking “Over-Thru,” and the down ‘n’ dirty “Cliffhanger.” The anthemic “Can You Feel Me” wraps all of HOS’s good things into a soaring ball of singalong, air-guitaring glory – a natural set closer, and likely a song High On Stress will be playing the rest of their career.
If High On Stress takes the Replacements’ ball and runs with it to their own court, Chicago’s Trash Kickers seem happy to stay under the umbrella with their debut album Way Out, Somehow. Young, sensitive, and besotted by rock & roll, the Chicago foursome – led by singer/guitarist Tyler Franklin – makes no self-conscious attempt at originality and just blasts away in the classic style circa Tim. Sometimes they get a little too close to their heroes – “Perfect Strangers” and the acoustic “Wild Stab” (placed, naturally, near the end of the record) sound like the band time-traveled back to 1985 and raided Paul Westerberg’s closet. But when they’re in full flight, as on the blazing “What a Waste,” the jangly “Nothing Left,” the catchy-as-hell “Come Undone,” and the winsome “Angel” (guest-starring singer Elizabeth Moen), it simply doesn’t matter how derivative they are – the quartet does what it does so well they’ll have song-based rockers like us jumping for joy around the room. Endorsed by HOS’s Nick Leet, Trash Kickers clearly have a kickass future ahead.
