PopSyndicate.com

One of the best albums released this year.

If Robert Smith and The B-52’s had a love child, it would sound very much like Black Kids.  Listening to Black Kids debut CD Partie Traumatic is hyperactive dance-floor pop with U.K. charm.  If you didn’t know the quintet was from Jacksonville, FL, you would swear they were the latest Brit band to venture onto U.S. soil. From beginning to end, Partie Traumatic is a solid pop record that demands to be listened to over and over again.

From disco to new wave to electro and beyond, Black Kids explores styles and sounds with each track reminding you of some song you’ve heard before but can’t quite remember where.  The lyrics aren’t deep but lead singer Reggie Youngblood’s charm sells the songs.  “Live like champs / though we’re unemployed / Stay the night and you can have some grits / Sure, you’re right / this songs the tits,” isn’t going win any awards for best lyrics, but the rocking new wave style of “Partie Traumatic” will have you up on your feet and not giving a damn about what’s being sung.

“Listen to Your Body Tonight” is all about getting laid.  “Hello this is your body / What do you want my body / I want to feel somebody on me.”  Youngblood is backed up by Ali Youngblood and Dawn Watley, giving the band extra depth and further adding to the new wave feel.  Black Kids uses party-song clichés in the lyrics of their songs but makes up for it with variety and creativity on each track. There isn’t much lyrical depth here but you won’t even care. 

“I’m Not Going To Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance” is one of the better songs on the CD and full on Cure-esque rock.  It’s infectious and impossibly catchy.  Its bouncy beat and vocal harmonies blend with a bit of 80’s synth-pop to create dance floor hit.

Black Kids will blow fans of The Sounds, The Cure and the new wave revival away.  Partie Traumatic is a joyous CD that will have you on your feet dancing.  It’s the kind of CD that you put on at the beginning of the night to set the mood for going out. This is some seriously fun music and I would highly recommend checking out their MySpace page while you’re waiting to purchase this CD.

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