Chasing the Perfect Pop Song with the Sidekicks

The Ohio band gets closer with Happiness Hours.by Ben SalmonWriting 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.C