Black Kids Partie Traumatic CD

Black Kids came bursting out of Jacksonville, Florida, in 2007 with their debut EP, WIZARD OF AHHHS, which generated huge buzz and plenty of eager anticipation for their first full-length release, PARTIE TRAUMATIC. As on their EP (whose tracks are all included here), the band takes the Cure influences, post-punk angularity, and punk-funk grooves that were popularized a few years earlier by the likes of the Bravery and the Rapture, and adds a good-time dance-party infectiousness as well as an indie-pop bookishness all their own. It's a fresh, invigorating sound that can be achieved only by a hot young band just coming into its own.

Audio Mixer: Lexxx.Spin (p.95) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[W]ith production from ex-Suede guitarist Bernard Butler that maximizes both the band's playfulness and the heartbreak it conceals."
Spin (p.49) - Ranked #22in Spin's "40 Best Albums Of 2008" -- "Reggie Youngblood sighs and swoons over garage-pop melodies given a carmelized sheen by producer Bernard Butler."
Alternative Press (p.162) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Singleworthy EP tunes like 'Hurricane Jane' pack serious dance-floor punch..."
Q (Magazine) (p.141) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Youngblood writes terrific, instantly memorable pop songs, their fashionable new-wave cool rubbing up against an urgent, almost disco undertow."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.106) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "PARTIE TRAUMATIC is an album big on shimmering guitars, party friendly beats and call and response choruses."
Blender (Magazine) (p.84) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Youngblood's tunes are so clver...He can reference '90s rappers Positive K and '70s electronic jokesters Sparks in the same song without sounding like he's trying too hard..."
URB (Magazine) (p.84) - "Despite the hype that surrounds them, Black Kids' conviction and raw talent has made a record that far outshines a majority of their blog brethren."