For almost a year before the release of their debut record, Florida's Black Kids were reliable music blog fodder. First, the breathless discovery, then the breathless confirmation at 2007's CMJ Conference and then breathless speculation on what label the band would end up on (Almost Gold/Columbia) and finally, the question of whether or not the record could possibly live up to the breathless expectations. The answer to that question is a little tricky. It'd be tough for any band to fully measure up to some of the claims and praise being thrown the Black Kids way and they don't. Not completely, though they give it their all. What the band has done instead is make a solid, sometimes exciting, always interesting debut album. Nothing too groundbreaking or unique because, like many 2000s kids, Black Kids are '80s kids and just about every sound on Partie Traumatic can be traced back to that era. Reggie Youngblood's vocals usually channel the Cure's Robert Smith, as do a large percentage of the songs; the perky, cheerleader vocals from Dawn Watley and Ali Youngblood sound like an All-American version of the girls in the Human League, Kevin Snow seems particularly fond of the drum patterns from David Bowie's "Modern Love" (for good reason), and the group employs a wide variety of wonderfully cheesy synths. Bernard Butler's production captures the energy of the band but also gives them a slick, very '80s-sounding sheen for good measure. What the group brings to the table are a couple of things that help them stand out from the '80s bandwagon. One is the goofy, unpredictable lyrics that knock you off guard from the very first (a knock-knock joke involving underwear that could be a deal-breaker but somehow works thanks to Youngblood's feckless delivery) and remain charmingly off-kilter throughout. Another thing that makes the record good is the songcraft. Youngblood seemingly can't write a song without a sticky-sweet chorus; every song could be a single. The best songs on the album ("I'm Not Going to Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You," "Hit the Heartbrakes," "Look at Me (When I Rock Wichoo)") kick you in the gut with their energy and verve, the rest are only a notch below. By the time the album comes to a frenetic, sweat-soaked close, the sound and the songs add up to something pretty impressive. Surely, the Black Kids backlash is probably getting into gear elsewhere and people are readying words like "underwhelming," but really, Partie Traumatic is a very good debut that manages to earn a huge chunk of the hype that was thrown willy-nilly in the band's direction.
There are moments in time when I wish the world of synth heavy campy pop had died in 1989. Then there are albums that come along and imagine old themes with such a fresh face that you can't help but love both where we've been and where we're all heading. Black Kids debut album, Partie Traumatic (amazon) (itunes), is one of those albums. From start to end, even when existentially singing from...
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I discuss the Floridian band's indie-pop debut with MOG outsider, The Girlfriend (a.k.a Jill).[During Partie Traumatic]Me: Here's the title track. What do you think Partie Traumatic means?The GF: Shit Party?Me: Wow, that really puts me in the mood for this album!The GF: I heard this on TV at Glastonbury and I wasn't too impressed. And the girls look a lot older than I imagined. The blonde one l...
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So after what seems like forever and a bag of chips, the Black Kids finally released their debut full length Partie Traumatic today. Yea, their debut. With their name coming out of every in-the-know music listener's mouth for almost a year now it seems like this should be their sophomore effort. Time will tell if all the hype will turn fickle listeners off and declare these guys so last year...
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_Black Kids_ are depressingly hip. The band name is thought provoking (a la Dead Kennedys) rather than outright confrontational (cf. Violent Anal Death). Their multimedia champions are hipster's bibles Pitchfork and NME. They’re signed to Arcade Fire’s management. (_Of course_.) The front man has an afro (don’t worry, he’s not white). And, to top it all off, the band hails from the cyberp
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The Magic Wands (who still aren’t dead) are opening for the Black Kids starting September 20th.Ugh.Now everyone will have to deal with hyper-inflated ticket prices for a hyper-inflated band in the Black Kids in order to see the Magic Wands and the Virgins if you’re so inclined.The good news is you can leave you can [...]~~
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--- - |- "I've been making these eyes now, making these eyes since '82." I consider myself pretty apathetic as far as buzz bands are concerned. My antipathy has reached new heights in the past couple of years. We all know that we've read about Sufjan Stevens to the point of exhaustion and have certainly heard more than enough about Tapes 'N' Tapes or Vampire Weekend (no negative tidings to ...
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There are moments in time when I wish the world of synth heavy campy pop had died in 1989. Then there are albums that come along and imagine old themes with such a fresh face that you can't help but love both where we've been and where we're all heading. Black Kids debut album, Partie Traumatic (amazon) (itunes), is one of those albums. From start to end, even when existentially singing from...
More >
There are moments in time when I wish the world of synth heavy campy pop had died in 1989. Then there are albums that come along and imagine old themes with such a fresh face that you can't help but love both where we've been and where we're all heading. Black Kids debut album, Partie Traumatic (amazon) (itunes), is one of those albums. From start to end, even when existentially singing from...
More >
I discuss the Floridian band's indie-pop debut with MOG outsider, The Girlfriend (a.k.a Jill).[During Partie Traumatic]Me: Here's the title track. What do you think Partie Traumatic means?The GF: Shit Party?Me: Wow, that really puts me in the mood for this album!The GF: I heard this on TV at Glastonbury and I wasn't too impressed. And the girls look a lot older than I imagined. The blonde one l...
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I always get the Black Kids mixed up with the Cool Kids in my head, until I hear the music. The Black Kids make laid-back indie rock that borders on shoegaze while the Cool Kids make killer old school hip hop tunes. Personally, I prefer the Cool Kids coz I'm more of a b-girl, but I know loads of my MOG friends will love this new video from the Black Kids, so I'm posting it here. Plus, I can'...
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_Black Kids_ are depressingly hip. The band name is thought provoking (a la Dead Kennedys) rather than outright confrontational (cf. Violent Anal Death). Their multimedia champions are hipster's bibles Pitchfork and NME. They’re signed to Arcade Fire’s management. (_Of course_.) The front man has an afro (don’t worry, he’s not white). And, to top it all off, the band hails from the cyberp
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What's the fascination with the Black Kids? For some reason, I just don't get it. Their music makes me think of stuff that played on the radio in the 80's that made me change the channel. Was it New Wave back then? What is it now?Anyway, I know peeps like this stuff, coz MOG went record shopping with them and filmed it for MOGtv. And people post about Black Kids' music here on MOG. So tel...
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So, as you can see the northeast is being hit by a rather weak Hurricane today, not a lot of rain just a lot of tree bending wind (and some rain) and it's cold enough to make you want to lay on the couch watching crap movies all day.So I figured if I'm going to be holed up for awhile with nothing to do why not lay down of barrage of random music posts. Just a few, no more then six, maybe seven,...
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The Black Kids' new (highly anticipated) album, Partie Traumatic has hit the ground running. Although the blog-hype (and also backlash speculation) are absolutely out of control, the Jacksonville Fla group have offered up an album of better than good disposable neo-dance music. With all the hype surrounding this band based around a 4 song myspace e.p., one may speculate if the Kids are even r...
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CLIQUE is a club-night just over 3 years old, situated in Manchester (UK). Recently they have been named a Club of the Year by MIXMAG and named "The Hottest Night in the City" by the Manchester Evening News. Check out some stills over at their website . The next Clique is on Friday the 14th of November! U don't wanna miss it!10pm - 3am (bar licensed all night) £6/ £5 with Flyer Mint Lounge, .
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Black Kids have announced a handful of US show set for early next month. The short four day jaunt will kick off December 6 in Providence, RI and run through Austin, TX.The tour is in support of their debut album, 'Partie Traumatic ', released earlier this year. Black Kids Tour dates:Providence, RI Club Hell (December 6) Boston, MA Wilbur Theatre (WFNX show) (7) Los Angeles, CA Club Nokia (In...
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Review by: Katie Lindstedt In a high-speed Internet world, Black Kids are only one example of the growing number of bands whose career trajectory appears foreshadowed by early MySpace/blog buzz. Following a performance at Georgia's Athens Popfest, the Florida-based indie-pop quintet quickly became an "it" band, one of Rolling Stone's "Ten Artists to Watch in 2008". (And watch, we did.) But~~
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So after what seems like forever and a bag of chips, the Black Kids finally released their debut full length Partie Traumatic today. Yea, their debut. With their name coming out of every in-the-know music listener's mouth for almost a year now it seems like this should be their sophomore effort. Time will tell if all the hype will turn fickle listeners off and declare these guys so last year...
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 "Partie Traumatic")
