CD reviews
The Black Kids and other music you should already know about
Black Kids
Partie Traumatic
(Columbia)
*8.1*
Goes well with: The Cure, I Love the ’80s,
white kids
Hype is an ugly little beast, a creature of concoction that simultaneously draws as much as it repels. I’m the sort to be repulsed. Black Kids has hype aplenty—thanks to masturbatory praise ranging from Pitchfork to NME and Rolling Stone to the BBC—but I cut them some sympathy slack for growing up in a city (Jacksonville, Fla.) that spawned .38 Special, 95 South, Limp Bizkit and Quad City DJs.
Lucky for humanity, Black Kids spent their formative years listening to New Order, Prince and The Cure instead of their Jack-ass neighbors. Partie Traumatic is certainly a party, of sorts, but the only thing traumatic about it is the fact that the title smacks of pseudo-artsy Euro-electronic affectations (The Faint, I’m looking at you). Instead it’s a synthesis of what we loved, then hated, then loved again about the ’80s.
This is what The Killers might sound like if they actually smiled like they meant it, if New Order’s Mondays weren’t always blue or if The Cure were giddy about this Christmas instead of moping about what happened at Jesus’ last birthday party.
Other bands have tried, with little success, to revisit new wave’s first crest, but Black Kids succeed by making mopey themes, dare I say, danceable. The first singles—“I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You” and the slightly more succinct “Hurricane Jane”—are mix-tape material, but so is “I Wanna Be Your Limousine” and “I’m Making Eyes at You.” Hell, even “Listen to Your Body Tonight” has its moments despite synth effects that sound like that meow-meow-meow-meow Meow Mix commercial. The rest is merely serviceable but, even with nauseatingly high expectations, still a pity Partie worth attending.
—Nathan Dinsdale
Derek Papa
I Will Get to You
(ARNO)
*8.0*
Goes well with: Will Oldham, Wilco,
Micah P. Hinson, nature
San Diego is the last place in America you’d expect to find Derek Papa. Constant sunshine, urban sprawl and active lifestyles don’t produce the kind of romantic, melancholy Americana he effortlessly weaves on this seven-song debut. But here it is, wrapped up in an exquisite cocoon, unaffected by the rock trends so prevalent in the local music scene.
The rustic tone Papa conjures is amazingly effective for such a small collection of tracks, let alone considering he lives in North Park and not the Appalachians. Say what you will about the legitimacy of someone who lives in the sun and uses the sound of raindrops for ambiance (“Mountain 2”); his state of mind is a creaking cabin in the woods, and for 22 minutes, you’re joining him on the front porch, smoking a pipe and casually sipping on grain alcohol.
His voice occasionally echoes Will Oldham (aka Bonnie “Prince” Billy), and the warm blanket of synthesizers on “Radio Active Waste” recalls Wilco’s “She’s a Jar,” but Papa escapes indebtedness by creating a vision all his own. In opposition to the endless concrete expanse of Southern California, I Will Get to You is like a naturalist’s daydream, filled with visions of open fields and overgrown foliage. It’s charming, wistful, organic and strangely comforting, like cozying up to a warm fire after spending all day in the rain.
—Todd Kroviak
GOTTA. HEAR. THESE.
The Avett Brothers
The Second Gleam (America/Columbia)
It’s more difficult than one might think to do the stripped-down acoustic-music thing and do it well. And if this North Carolina trio didn’t do it really well, well, we wouldn’t be mentioning them.
Hercules and Love Affair
Hercules and Love Affair (DFA)
Yes, Virginia, a band can be innovative and accessible. Featuring sublime vocals from Antony (of Antony & The Johnsons), H&LA goes well with your impromptu Saturday afternoon dance party.
Hercules and Love Affair performs Friday, July 25, at The Casbah.
Laika and the Cosmonauts
Cosmopolis (Yep Roc)
The instrumental band from Finland is calling it quits after 20 years. This 27-track compilation is a way of saying näkemiin (“goodbye” in Finnish). Think of it as surf rock for your space-age bachelor pad.
—Kelly Davis
Published: 07/22/2008
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