Alternative @ MindSay

MindSay Music Reviews
The Week of July 13

Black Kids - Partie Traumatic



I thought that this was the perfect band and album for me to review first.  It's a band and album I know very little about.  The band is based out of Jacksonville, Florida.  They formed in 2006 and released an EP called Wizard of Ahhhs.  It featured a handful of songs from the album I'm reviewing.  They've gotten a lot of press for being a band that needs to be watched.  An act that some think will be the next big thing.  Partie Traumatic is their debut album and was released on July 7 in the UK and will be released on July 22 here in the US.
      After constantly listening to this album, this band has done very little to capture my interest.  The best way that I can describe this band is a bad attempt at reviving a couple of old styles of music.  They combine newer pop-punk and indie sounds with new-wave from the 70s and there are a couple of hints at disco.  But here's the problem.  If you are younger than me (17 or younger), you may not know anything about the bands within those genres.  But surely, most of you have heard of the B-52s.  Yea.  Well.  These guys shamelessly channel them on nearly every song while adding the lead vocals from Hot Hot Heat and backing vocals from cheerleaders.  There is very little originality present on this album.
      There are a couple of good listens on the album though.  "I've Underestimated My Charm (Again)," while sounding like dozens of indie songs, is definitely catchy.  I found myself nodding along plenty of times.  "I Wanna Be Your Limousine" kinda sounds like the music from a Bowie song and doesn't do a bad job of it.  "Hurricane Jane" may be the best song on the album though, with its not-bad throwbacks to disco.
     Unfortunately, the catchy songs give way for a majority of forgettable tracks that do no justice to the bands of old that they are obviously trying to bring back.  There isn't a single thing within the music of these songs (apart from maybe 2 of the 3 I mentioned already) that grabs me.  It's made up of bland guitars and keyboard.  People new to this sound will probably call this original but I find nothing original about it.  Not even the gruesome voice of the lead vocalist is original.  As I said previously, it sounds like the Hot Hot Heat vocalist stepped in but isn't even trying to sing anymore.  I find the lyrics to be laughable.  I'm not sure if this was their intention or not but how can you take the first line of the first song seriously? "Knock knock, who's there, call the ghost in your underwear, call the ghost in your underwear who?  Call the ghost in your underwear Boo."
      I'm not going to spend any more time trying to find good things about this album or gather even more bad things to say.  Ultimately, if you're looking for party music, this is it.  It has catchy beats, unoriginal guitar, and fun singing.  It's fun sounding music.  For that I give it kudos.  But for the most part, since I'm actually looking for some depth and originality to the music I listen to, this is just a poor album.