Sidekicks has produced one of 2018’s best rock records so far, and they’re coming to town behind it this Sunday. Nick Fancher
Writing the perfect pop song is a lofty goal, one that’s out of the reach of most songwriters. But Steve Ciolek is not most songwriters. The 29-year-old is the frontman of the Sidekicks, a Columbus, Ohio, quartet whose two most recent albums—2015’s Runners in the Nerved World and this year’s Happiness Hours—are packed with ultra-hooky pop-rock tunes that will bounce around your brain for a good long while.
Ciolek is always looking for ways to hone his craft, which is why he approached Happiness Hours with a goal: to write more clearly than he did on Runners (which he says has an “internal view”) so that more folks can find something to connect with in his songs.