Black Kids' new release Partie Traumatic has officially made dance music okay for indie kids. Ten songs amped up on the kind of energy one finds on a dance floor packed with sweaty bodies and a pulsing beat, it's the soundtrack to any hipster's Saturday club crawl. But the first full-length by this Florida quintet isn't all gyrating, bubblegum dance songs sublimely flitting about, oblivious to the trials, tribulations, and inherent loneliness of the quintessential hipster. “It's Friday night and I ain't got nobody, so what's the use of making a bed?” sings lead singer/guitarist Reggie Youngblood. . But those downer words are contrasted brightly by their exuberant delivery. On “I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You” Black Kids get close to the clichéd scenario of being just friends.” It's the same old song filtered through a fuzz of blinding, neon lights and sweaty alcohol, and is just enough to keep my toe tapping right along.
-- Jake Benjamin [September 15, 2008]
