James Arden checks out the garage rockers latest album.
The Christian rock band from Brighton bring religion to the masses.
Recipe for modern R'n'B album: liberal helpings of guest rappers and an overdose of sexual euphemisms.
You could smell the excitement throughout the venue immediately upon arrival, and it only built as the time for Black Kids to come on stage approached. From the opening notes of ‘Hit The Heartbreaks’ through to the final “We’re all gonna drop” of ‘Look at Me (When I Rock Wichoo)’, the band tore through their hit album Partie Traumatic in a breathless live set which left the crowd writhing and jiving about with manic abandon.
One of the great things about Black Kids is that their debut album contains no filler, only good songs from beginning to end. This makes their live act quite special, as there is no let-up at any point. Even quieter numbers like ‘Hurricane Jane’ and ‘I’m Making Eyes At You’ go down well, with lead singer Reggie Youngblood showing appreciation for the great reception given to him and his band mates. “We’re from Jacksonville, Florida,” he says during a brief lull after dispatching the album’s epic title track. “We’re so happy to be in Leeds”. Nobody believed him, but nobody cared.
The quieter songs may have got a good reception, but Black Kids’ real strength is in their ability to make people dance. This is accomplished easily during their live show, with the likes of ‘I’ve Underestimated My Charm Again’ and first single ‘I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You’ whipping the crowd into a frenzy. The band reacts accordingly, throwing themselves around on stage. ‘Love Me Already’ and, in particular, ‘I Wanna Be Your Limousine’ are far better to listen to live than they are on the album.
Reggie and the rest of the band genuinely seem to love playing live, and the sheer energy evident on stage is obviously genuine, too. Their major success appears to be that they are now transferring this excitement and energy into their audiences, who respond to the band’s music and on-stage antics with appreciation. If they can keep bashing out decent songs to compliment their frantic live show, Black Kids stand a chance of establishing themselves as something other than new kids on the block before too long.
Good review, but why does the York Uni press only ever focus on acts anyone can read reviews of in the national music press?
It hardly reflects what's going on in the local music scene. I can't remember the last time I saw a York uni review of a band not hyped in NME etc. (and Woodstock doesn't count, I mean bands doing the local rounds regularly).
Come on reviewers, get off the bandwagons (fantastic pun...) and make the effort to find something going on in your own back yard. And before you say it, I would, but my journalistic interest lies elsewhere.
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