I went to a wedding this past weekend in Jacksonville (read about it here and here). On the drive there I listened, twice, to 'Partie Traumatic' by Black Kids. It was fitting, since they are a band from Jacksonville. The album just came out a couple of weeks ago, to pretty solid reviews in the U.K. and pretty weak reviews here in the States. You've probably seen the most notorious of these already.
After seeing them in November, I mentioned that if you expect nothing more than a good dance, you'd be golden, and that's pretty much still the case half a year later. 'Partie Traumatic' is a solid album, never amazing but never horrendous, with a few really good songs. If you're expecting anything more than a decent album from a very young band who're already considered last year's news, you'll not like this. And 'Listen to Your Body Tonight' is a bit rubbish.
But this is a band that can get people dancing, even when the song is dumb as hell and rhymes "eat some grits" with "this song is the tits", as the title track does. Even in its new and far inferior recording, 'I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You' still sounds ace. 'I'm Making Eyes at You' sounds a little like a more adolescent 'Love Cats', while 'Hit the Heartbrakes' rebounds nicely from a terrible knock-knock intro into a pure pop chorus.
Reggie doesn't have much to say, but his laments about women are a failsafe subject to sing about. The girls in the band provide bratty back-up shouting, most effectively on the straight-up fun album closer 'Look at Me (When I Rock Wichoo)'. I also like 'I've Underestimated My Charm (Again)', and danced when I heard it in Urban Outfitters the other day, particularly during its Motown-lite outro.
So, anyone that expects Black Kids to deliver a debut album that will match 'Pet Sounds' or 'All Eyez On Me' in terms of permanent cultural relevance and immediate success, will probably be disappointed. For what it is, a collection of ten songs by a band younger than me and mostly younger than my sister – it's pretty okay. There is probably something to be said about the nature of the music press, and how this band has already gone from darlings of the blogs to forgotten also-rans in the space of a few months. But I'm not nuanced or analytical to say that today.
[download Black Kids - I've Underestimated My Charm (Again) (EP Version)]
[Black Kids official / myspace]
[Buy 'Partie Traumatic' UK / US]
All the blogs are about you
This is all we care about
Most Disconcerting Trend: Great bands that are younger than I am
I'll be turning 25 in February, and for the first time this year, I really noticed that there are (a) plenty of bands who are way younger than me, and (b) many of them are actually really great.
From the United States, there are two bands of Kids (Black and Cool), from Jacksonville and Chicago respectively, who are pretty good and show promise for the future. Cool Kids, particularly, have the balls to name a song 'I Rock' and it's entirely accurate. Beirut put out a great second album that sounds like a travelling carnival. I'm sure there's other American whippersnappers that I'm forgetting.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the water, London gave us Cajun Dance Party, whose single 'Amylase' is one of those summer singles that grabs your attention and stamps on your attention and then leaves your attention bleeding on the pavement. Their mate Fryars put out an EP that I talked about here before Stereogum and GWFA (small victories!) and Ben sent me a nice message over myspace, so I've nothing but time for him. Los Campesinos! have received all the attention in the world, and good luck to them with the album due very soon. My birthday party had a facebook event entitled 'You! Me! Dancing!' in fact.
The year's MVPs for me, though, were The Strange Death of Liberal England, a band whose debut album 'Forward March!' brought out the best parts of dearly beloved Hope of the States, plus a bloke whose voice is like Efrim's from A Silver Mt. Zion. For me, at least, it's been a match made in vocal post-rock heaven. Check 'em out.
[download Cajun Dance Party - Amylase]
[download The Strange Death of Liberal England - I Saw Evil]
Bonus: 'I Rock' (live) from the Cool Kids video:
[Black Kids myspace / official site]
[Cool Kids myspace / official site]
[Beirut myspace / official site]
[Cajun Dance Party myspace / official site]
[Fryars myspace / official site]
[Los Campesinos! myspace / official site]
[The Strange Death of Liberal England myspace / official site]
What's the use in making the bed?
Black Kids
Gainesville Common Grounds
November 27, 2007
It's nice that Black Kids are getting so much exposure. They're from Jacksonville, about two hours away from here, and so it means that my housemate and other friends know the guys from the band. It also means that at the end of their set, people were shouting "DUUUVAAAL!" at them, which you have to be from Florida to understand. After giving the world Limp Bizkit, it's nice to have something a little more credible to call our local band.
The downside of the massive hype machine already behind them is that they only have, like, ten songs, and so it's too soon to speak of them as the next saviours of music. Other people can debate the hype all they want. It's weird, though, that the band has played more shows in New York than in Florida (outside of Jacksonville), and next week have like six London dates lined up. Remember, they have ten songs.
But ignoring all that, we went to check 'em on Tuesday and they were pretty solid. Not spectacular, but really good. The band knows how to get people dancing, recalling in parts The Cure (Reggie has a Smith-like voice) and the Killers, with their twin synth onslaught. Also, if UK readers remember the band Younger Younger 28s, there's a touch of them in there too. I never, ever thought I'd bring up YY28s on this website. Just the two girls, one bloke approach on vocals, that's about it.
They opened really well and finished really well, with a bit of a lull in the middle. What are these guys? 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'? (I've been meaning to make that joke ever since the show a few nights ago).
People only know four of their songs, and they threw out the best known, 'I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You' very early, but others like 'Hurricane Jane' and the last one they played show that they've got some good ideas under that Afro. If you see them, expect nothing more than a good dance and you'll be golden. Also, throw shapes!
[download the 'Wizard of Ahhs' EP from their official site]
Thanks to Sarah for the pic - see her full set on Flickr.
