Music Review

03 December 2008 05:10 BST

Black Kids: Partie Traumatic

Almost Gold Recordings, out July 7th.

In a nutshell….

Almost as good as everyone thinks they are

What's it all about?

What have they done over in the US? Did they suddenly put something in the water that makes people got out and make indie bands that are actually interesting? After years of having to put up with crap like the Killers or Panic at the Disco, suddenly the Yanks are getting together and forming bands that are interesting and making music you'd want to listen to. We Are Scientists, Vampire Weekend, Black Lips, Coldwar Kids - all great bands and all American. Florida's Black Kids have been added to the list by the world and his wife – principally on the strength of single I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You. Now the five-piece has got round to releasing an album; Ten songs of chipry 80s-tinged pop are the results. And they are nearly as good as everyone has already decided they are.

Who's it by?

Black Kids formed back in 2006, when everyone was still pointing to the Strokes are the most exciting band to come out of America since Lou Reed and John Cale decided to get together and inject some heroin. Bother and sister combo Reggie and Ali Youngblood got together with Owen Holmes, Kevin Snow and Dawn Watley and the band were formed. Almost immediately, their catchy songs got people talking and, after a performance at the Athens Popfest, they got the music press whispering things like 'Cure-esque' and 'next big thing'. Because these things are basically self-fulfilling prophesies, a year later the group are playing about a million festivals and releasing an album into the world that every music journalist who's already said they are amazing will have to call 'simply amazing'.

Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys

Grammys seem to always go to bands that are already massive. Black Kids are not that big and probably are never going to ascend into U2 territory however promising their debut album is. No, 2008's Grammys will probably go to whichever reformed mega group get distracted from counting their money from their latest stadium tour and get bundled into the studio. If Black Kids were English they'd be a shoe in for a Mercury nomination. The judges of that competition go crazy for their blend of quirky pop and nods to the past.

What the others say

"Much of the hotly tipped Black Kids charm resides in the dazzling breadth of their appearance rarely have a band come in such shapes, sizes and colours." - Jim Butler, Observer

"Unless future singles are carefully selected, and maybe even remixed to amplify their more appealing nuances, their career trajectory could well veer worryingly in the wrong direction before long." - Tony Robert Whyte, Drowned In Sound

So is it any good?

Living up to the hype is perennially difficult for bands. In fact, the last one that comprehensively justified early praise before dropping an actually amazing and almost seminal album was probably the Strokes back in 2001. Black Kids have been heavily bigged up for a really long time and this doesn't generally bode well when it comes round to albums. Luck then that the Florida band does have some tricks up their sleeves. Enough tricks in fact to make Partie Traumatic a pretty assured debut offering.

But whatever anyone tells you, the record is nothing more than a collection of pleasantly distracting indie pop nuggets. Opener Hit The Heartbreaks sets the tone. You get jangly vocals, a chirpy riff and some chorus work from Ali Youngblood so set off her brother's verses. It's all very nice, but a bit forgettable. Things get a bit more interesting as the gang warm up. Title track Partie Traumatic and Listen To Your Body Tonight are a bit more spiky and interesting. They're the sort of songs you can imaging people singing along to in an NME club night, but in a good way.

When things slowdown on Hurricane Jane everything gets a bit dull and you start worrying that the Black Kids might be something of a one-EP pony. But then, its like they suddenly discovered the 80s and knock out a series of blinding little pop songs that you can easily imagine Ferris Bueller, Allison from The Breakfast Club or Ducky from Pretty in Pink – basically any of the interesting kids from John Hughes movies - listening to while they obsess about their love life. In fact, if you squint hard enough while listening to I'm Making Eyes At You, you can imaging Molly Ringwald doing that stupid dance to it.

By the time you get to I'm Not Going To Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance you know what you're going to be getting. More 80s pop hooks and lyrics to sing along to. It's obvious why this is the lead single off the record; it basically perfectly encapsulates what Black Kids are about.

Everything tales off a bit after the single, with Love Me Already turning out to be utterly forgettable and Look At Me (When I Rock Wichoo) promising much at points bit actually delivering very little – the bits with the girl are good in this one and the rest is so dull it doesn't really bare thinking about.

But then there's I Wanna Be Your Limousine, a song so unlike anything else on the album that it's perhaps exciting simply because of its oddity. Or maybe it's because it's actually a brilliantly mental bit of pop. If you had to list one thing you would never expect the Black Kids to do, it would probably be to start chanting the name of a silly but trendy electro band at the climax of one of their songs. But, this little gem does end with the pair screaming ' Chromeo o o' over and over again.

7.5/10

James Cooper