Anyone listening to a new piece of music should know that having the volume low is a rookie mistake. ‘Kick’, the single that gives us our first taste of Harvey Jay Dodgson’s upcoming fourth EP, is proof that when it comes to bolshy, indie pop like this, you need to rack that volume up to the full 100.
We last heard from Dodgson in 2025’s The Mind’s Eye, in which the Portsmouth born artist made full use of alt-rock references to Kasabian and Arctic Monkeys while creating uniquely authentic, infectious tracks. ‘Kick’ feels more like Dodgson pushing and challenging himself to hit new highs, demonstrating a deeper vocal range. At first, he almost channels the Alex Warren pop kings of the 2020s, before developing a richer, harsher sound for the boot-stomping chorus. The single, with its continual (and literal) drum ‘kicks’, is a really exciting taste of that vocal and sonic development we will see spring to life in the record later this year. It helps that Dodgson has Berlin-based producer Dennis Borger on board, who has built up an impressive catalogue of work with European artists, and from this track you can hear he knows what it takes to give an Indie rock track a properly big, venue-filling sound.
Anybody going through a break-up right now needs this track in their life. Jumping from wedding semantics in one verse to anger and aggression in the next, there is great skill in capturing the conflict around a relationship, how you can be in love and feel spite all at once, the euphoria of high emotion capitulating us into the heady chorus. This three minutes of lyrical drama makes for an incredibly satisfying standalone listen, especially if noughties rock is your bag, but one cannot help being excited for the full EP which promises to be inspired by hip-hop and soul, for which ‘Kick’ is a delicious amuse-bouche of sorts.
Harvey Jay Dodgson figuratively ripped up the stages at Glastonbury and Victorious last year and he is set to do so again whenever he returns to the festival circuit with his latest single in his arsenal, a big, modern Indie stonker sure to drive crowds crazy with excitement.
