_{American band Kickin Valentina released their second full length album “Imaginary Creatures” on 11th August, through the Danish label Mighty Music. The band formed in 2013 and released their debut EP the same year. I can’t remember when or how I got a copy of that EP, but I’ve been a fan of the band ever since and was really looking forward to the release of “Imaginary Creatures”. An album recommendation was pretty much a foregone conclusion! I’ve played the tracks “Imaginary Creatures” and “Devil’s Hand” on the Friday NI Rocks Shows on 30th June and 28th July respectively and will be opening the Show this week with “Eyes”.}

_{Kickin Valentina are Joe Edwards on vocals, Heber Pampillon on guitar, Chris Taylor on bass and Jimmy Berdine on drums. Their self-titled EP was released through Atlanta label Highway 9 Records in October 2013, followed by their debut album “Super Atomic” through Mighty Music in November 2015 (http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/back-stage/music-reviews/2309-ni-rocks-recommends-qsuper-atomicq-by-kickin-valentina.html)  The band has a very infectious, distinct sound that I really like. There are certain tracks where Joe Edwards sounds very like Fin Muir of Waysted and that can only ever be a good thing.}

_{The band has toured widely in the USA, supporting some big names and in 2016 did a European tour. They’re back in Europe in September to play some gigs with Nitrogods and some headline shows. They’ve also been added to the bill for the Monsters of Rock Cruise in 2018.}

_{There are ten tracks on the album including a fantastic cover of “Burning Love”. In addition to the tracks that I’ve played so far, stand-out tunes would be....just about all of them really!}

_{Check out the band’s Facebook page for more info - https://www.facebook.com/KickinValentina/}

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_{About “NI Rocks Recommends”}

_{The simple idea behind “NI Rocks Recommends” is to acknowledge and promote some of the great music being submitted to Rock Radio NI. I'll not be giving marks or ratings or analyzing the tracks in great detail; just telling you something about the artist and the album. It’s a personal recommendation to go check something out, not a traditional “review”!}

_{My musical tastes cover most things rock; from the not too melodic to the not too heavy. The albums that I’ll be recommending are those that you’ll hear me playing tracks from on my shows on Rock Radio NI.}

_{Check out NI Rocks on Facebook – www.facebook.com/NIRocks or Twitter - www.twitter.com/NIrelandRocks}