“Hurricane Jane” – Black Kids
(Words/music: Black Kids, available on Partie Traumatic, Almost Gold / Columbia 2008)
In roughly just a year, Black Kids went from obscurity to oversaturation. This is remarkable on its own, but becomes even more absurd when noting that their debut album came at the end of this stretch. Pitchfork discovered their Wizard of Ahhhs EP on Myspace and turned this very young band into the most desired band at CMJ 2007. What followed made perfect sense in retrospect – a band with a wonderful four song demo EP wasn’t road tested and received lukewarm reactions from the same people who eagerly downloaded their EP. It was, as the Specials put it, “too much too young.” The band needed time to find their footing and catch up to where expectations demanded they should be. Unfortunately, Black Kids had to grow in the spotlight, and when they went through the things that most young bands experiences (short sets, clumsy performances), the backlash began. Still, they deserve a lot of respect for taking Pitchfork’s non-review in stride and (as of last August) becoming a fun, lively band in concert.
It probably didn’t help the band’s case that almost all of their best songs on their debut album came from this demo EP. However, the versions on Partie Traumatic reflect the growth the band experienced over their year in the limelight. With Suede’s Bernard Butler behind the board, “Hurricane Jane” becomes far more precise; the guitar line sounds more defined yet still retains similar reverb from the original. The most notable change occurs when the band slides from this main riff into the verse and from the verse into the chorus – it’s a superior mix where each of the instruments holds its own with the others. It’s not simply a higher recording budget, though; the band sounds more confident, switching from a low key groove in the verse into the looser and freer chorus. Yes, there’s a charm to the EP version of the song, but the album version of “Hurricane Jane” will fit in perfectly with the other feel-good pop songs on your summer mix. Above all, this is a band that’s having fun – and if we expected anything more than a fun, slightly campy record from this band, then we only have our lofty expectations to thank for our disappointment.
More on Black Kids: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm
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