Say what you will about the career of Kid Rock, but over the better part of the last two decades the Michigan native – who once dominated the rap rock arena – has delivered a steady stream of hits that are hard to forget. From “Cowboy” and “American Badass,” to more laid back fare like “Picture,” Rock has long proven himself more than capable of writing infectious songs with huge hooks. His latest, which just so happens to be the first song off his next studio album, may be his biggest hit in years.

Released earlier this week, “First Kiss” channels the spirit of youth through a radio-ready guitar riff that sounds as if it were conjured straight from the late 1970s. The song is the result of Rock’s ongoing love affair with nostalgia, which if you recall was the same motivating factor that led to the hit “All Summer Long.” Likewise, this song feels and sounds like a dozen classic rock songs that you have long since forgotten. It’s a reminder that rock bands can still embrace pop music sensibilities, and it’s constructed in such a way that even that most aggressive Kid Rock haters will have to admit it makes you want to sing along. Don’t believe me? Let’s quit talking for a minute and experience “First Kiss” in full, complete with its official music video:

The last half decade has found Kid Rock transitioning from an artist trying to shake his past while fiercely straddling the rock/country line with mixed results, to a well-oiled hit machine capable of blending his various influences in a way that produces something incredibly infectious. It’s still garbage music, but for whatever reason the combination of shitty classic rock, stereotypical country, and disposable pop creates something that – with the right promotion – could be a massive hit. Even people who don’t normally listen to Kid Rock can get behind this song, and that is not due to the fact Kid Rock has finally proven himself to be someone capable of doing no wrong, but because it fits the typical radio structure of verse/chorus/verse/chorus while simultaneously pulling in cultural references that many people – especially those over the age of 25 – recall from their youth.

So you don’t relate to Kid Rock’s music? That’s fine. Since Kid found success with his cover of “Feel Like Making Love” it has been clear his audience was a bit older than most contemporary artists. He may have first made his mark catering to the MTV generation, but that was more than fifteen years ago at this point. Rock has matured, or at least gotten older, and the vast majority of his fans have done the same. Sticking to his country boy persona however, Rock refuses to quote/unquote “grow up.” He clings to the last fleeting bits of youth left in his soul as if they were the last sip at the bottom of the last bottle of Jack Daniels anywhere on the Earth. If I had to guess, which I more or less do, I would wager the bulk of his core fan base feels the same. The talk of small towns and riding around in beat up trucks that fill the hook of “First Kiss,” not to mention the references to Tom Petty on the radio that follow, brings to mind a simpler time that has long since been replaced with high rises, smart cars, and EDM. It’s true we cannot return to the time now seen only in fading memories, but through songs like “First Kiss” that sense of eternal youth is alive once more for a generation who have long felt like that latest group of people to be considered ‘old’ by our society’s harsh standards.

I’m not saying Kid Rock’s next album, which arrives on February 24, is going to be the best album of 2015. Hell, I’m not even saying “First Kiss” will be one of the year’s better songs. All I’m trying to convey to you is that, even after almost twenty years in this business, Kid Rock still has the ability to pen a hit song that people of all ages can enjoy. The target market may be skewed towards older music fans, but as the longtime industry saying goes: A good hook is a good hook. “First Kiss” is the kind of song you find yourself singing out loud when you’re alone and you have no reason why it popped into your head in the first place. You can deny its catchiness all you want, but longterm resistance is futile. “First Kiss” is a song that sticks to your bones, and until radio gets sick of playing it in six to eight months’ time that fact is not going to go away. Just be happy someone is still writing catchy music with real instruments as their accompaniment and be happy with that. After all, what more could you possibly ask for?

Written by: James Shotwell Follow @utgjames

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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