Review / Book Review
James Kennedy
Noise Damage: My Life as a Rock'n'Roll Underdog

Eye Books (2020) T

James Kennedy – Noise Damage: My Life as a Rock'n'Roll Underdog cover artwork
James Kennedy – Noise Damage: My Life as a Rock'n'Roll Underdog — Eye Books, 2020

Noise Damage is the personal account of James Kennedy on his trials and tribulations navigating his evolution and experiences with the music industry, which saw him rise, become revered and headhunted before the phonographic industry ultimately crashed and imploded.

Familiarity with James Kennedy, his oeuvre or his band Kyshera is not a pre-requisite for being instantaneously drawn into the maelstrom that is Kennedy’s gripping story.

There is no doubt that anyone remotely into making music would be able to relate to Kennedy hustling his way to critical acclaim, which is paved with grim incidents, back stabbings, exposure to shady characters and a life without any resemblance of stability.

The fact that Kennedy finds a way to portray the ups and downs of his travails in an authentic manner without having to rely on gimmicky name dropping or outlandish hyperboles, adds depth and personality to his writings.

Peppered with tongue-in-cheek witticisms, valuable lessons are being delivered without running danger of sounding self-righteous or holier-than-thou.

An enjoyable, funny, emotional and painfully honest book that will appeal to both music enthusiasts as well as the uninitiated as it is an ode to magic of music and the way one’s life is enriched by it.

7.0 / 10T • March 1, 2021

James Kennedy – Noise Damage: My Life as a Rock'n'Roll Underdog cover artwork
James Kennedy – Noise Damage: My Life as a Rock'n'Roll Underdog — Eye Books, 2020

Recently-posted album reviews

Action/Adventure

Ever After
Pure Noise (2025)

Chicago’s Action/Adventure have been grinding the pop-punk trenches since 2014. They have always played pop-punk like it still has something to prove because for them, it does. They went viral in 2020 on TikTok with their song “Barricades” by calling out the exact thing no one in the scene wanted to say out loud. The genre is full of white … Read more

217

In Your Gaze
Time To Kill (2025)

If you didn’t know, hardcore and punk are alive and thriving in Italy. When I come across bands from there, their scene never ceases to amaze me. Italy gave us Raw Power and Negazione in the ’80s, Slander and Strength Approach in the 2010s. Now 217 picks up that lineage with their own mix of fire and reflection by keeping … Read more

Ugly Stick

Absinthe
Hovercraft Records (2025)

Contrary to what I said on Vh1’s Behind the Music, Tim from Hovercraft is one of my favourite human beings. I suppose in some ways that’s not saying much but Tim plays in one of my favourite bands, I’m a fan of his art and on top of those two things and running a label, his day job is saving … Read more