Blogarhythms

In the movie business Summertime is the season for sequels. The past two weeks have borne that out as sequels, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army and The Dark Knight, dominated the box-office. But more and more it seems like the music industry has latched on to this practice too, because it feels like this Summer has seen the release of a number of records that were essentially quick sequels (often recycling previously released tracks) to projects I enjoyed last year.

For example, Wizard of Ahhhs, the demo/EP from Jacksonville, Florida-based quintet Black Kids, which the band gave away as a free download on their website, was one of my favorite releases of the year. In fact, I honored the band by proclaiming that their “demo is better than most of the albums that came out this year” on Imageyenation’s extra-lengthy year-end wrap-up. I also begged them not to let me down if and when they finally released a “real” album.

In the interim the group signed to Almost Gold, a boutique Indie with big-timey major-label distribution known for bringing overseas successes like Peter Bjorn & John and Calvin Harris to listeners here in the US. The Black Kids went the other way though, traveling to the UK, where they hit the studio with former Suede guitarist and Duffy producer Bernard Butler behind the boards, recording new tracks and re-recording old ones for that “real” album. A spate of singles and flashy videos (see below) followed.

The result is a ten-track LP, titled Partie Traumatic, which has been out on the other side of the pond for a couple of weeks, but which hits stores here in the the USA tomorrow. It wouldn’t be a worthwhile sequel if the four songs that made Wizard of Ahhhs a must-download didn’t appear here as well, which they do, in newly re-recorded, beefed-up form. In fact, the new versions sound so polished that I was initially put off by how different they were from the gritty demos on the EP. But the new mixes thump harder and add a lot of crispy new textures while retaining the spirit, songwriting and catchiness that originally caught my ear. And the new tracks flesh out the band’s sordid tale of love, jealousy and partying into something approaching a concept album.

A great deal of the band’s charm came from the interplay of the boy/girl vocals from front-man Reggie Youngblood and his sister, keyboardist Ali Youngblood, as well as her and Dawn Watley’s proggy synth melodies. Thankfully Partie Traumatic is lacking in none of those things. And the youthful vocals & retro keyboard flourishes are only augmented by the band’s other strong points; catchy hooks, sensitive, post-modern songwriting which deconstructs relationships & youth culture — referencing blogging, text messages gone wrong & other pop-culture ephemera — and — as evidenced by “Love Me Already” — some of the cleverest, most viscerally heartsick and uniquely visual storytelling this side of Lightspeed Champion.

Musically the influence of early Alternative Rock poster children The Cure and The Smiths is still most evident, particularly in Reggie’s trademark whine and the rhythm & melody of standout track “I’m Making Eyes At You,” which cribs notes from “Close to Me” and “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out.” As is the icy synth shimmer, sinuous bass and insistent pulmonary kick of Disco which made Wizard of Ahhhs sound like Dance Music to cry to. But a wide-range of styles, including Post-Punk, ’80s New Romantic & Synthpop, Rap, early Rock & Roll, classic Bubblegum Pop, Girl-Group Pop, Glam, Power-Pop and even late ’70s and early ’80s Arena-Rock, contribute to Black Kids’ party playlist.

Black Kids “I’m Making Eyes At You”

New tunes like the thumping title-track, with it’s Foreigner-style piano and theremin-like lead synth, and the naughty Freestyle-meets-Disco-Punk jam “Listen to Your Body Tonight” could easily have appeared on Kenna’s last album. And it’s hard not to hear comparisons to the likes of N*E*R*D, The Carps and The Go! Team in genre-defying tunes like the Disco-Rock apocalypse “Look At Me (When I Rock Wichoo)” and the “Controversy”-esque “I Wanna Be Your Limousine,” where Rock guitars, Disco basslines, Krauty synths, clubby programmed claps and MC-style toasting coalesce into something altogether new.

If there’s one band I’d liken Black Kids to in their genrelessness it’d be Morrissey’s darlings Sparks, who’ve made Pop music without following any of the industry or media’s rules for nearly 30 years. Only time will tell if they’ll stick around that long. But as mature as they are now, lyrically, musically, thematically, and in the breadth of their stylistic references, I’d enjoy the opportunity of watching these kids grow up.

Black Kids “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You”

Black Kids “Hurricane Jane”