Black Kids: Partie Traumatic : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

It's true: Black Kids know how to get down. The interracial crew's "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You" was last year's hottest indie-rock tail-wagger — a campy mix of pillow-fight synth-pop and B-52s giddiness. Rerecorded versions of "Boyfriend" and other songs from the band's 2007 EP, Wizard of Ahhhs, make up the best moments of their sugary debut LP — which is a tad worrying. But with Brit-pop vet Bernard Butler behind the decks, these Floridians still toss out an impressive 10-song party grenade. Their remake of Ahhhs' "Hurricane Jane" is a gender-twisted disco jam, with frontman Reggie Youngblood mewling like Robert Smith and confessing, "I want you here inside me," to the title's tomboy. "I've Underestimated My Charm (Again)" is a hyperactive fever dream of Brill Building pop. "Listen to Your Body Tonight" nods to "Take Your Time (Do It Right)," the S.O.S. Band's slinky 1980 electro-funk strut, with Youngblood urging boys and girls to jump into bed with someone. He might convince you to do so too.