Originally published
in The Aquarian Weekly
August 20, 2008
Black Kids
Partie Traumatic
Columbia
The road to this year's
buzz bin
has taken a rather
circuitous route
around the country. It
began in
New York City with the
debut album
by Vampire Weekend. From
there
it headed clear out to
the Pacific
Northwest for Seattle's
Fleet Foxes,
and now it's arrived in
Jacksonville,
Florida for the debut
album by
Black Kids. Deserved or
not, these
young bands have
generated a
great deal of
conversation in the
blogosphere and
elsewhere.
Black Kids are somewhat
problematic. The band,
led by the
undeniably charismatic
Reggie
Youngblood, draws from a
number
of resources to create,
or should
I say recreate, an album
steeped
in the sounds of the Ô80s.
The
bandÕs biggest influence
by far
is The Cure, but there
are echoes
of Prince in the
squiggly synths
and electronic drums,
and New
Order in the dance
rhythms. The
lyrics can be somewhat
silly, but
that's not really what
this album
is about. This is a
dance album,
and taken as such, it's
a fun listen.
Partie Traumatic opens
strong
with ÒHit the
Heartbrakes.Ó The
album's first single, ÒI'm
Not Going
To Teach Your Boyfriend
How To
Dance With You,Ó is real
standout
here.
If they can resist the
pressures,
and reject the hype,
there's a bright
future in store for
Black Kids. HereÕs
hoping they can develop
a sound
thatÕs more their own,
and less
tied to the past.
In A Word: Retro
Grade: B
-by Ken Shane