Listen To Black Kids!

12:57 PM GMT 11/02/2008

ADD THE TEEN LONGING of John Hughes movies and the dizziness of ’60s girl groups to the slithery sexiness of Prince and you get Black Kids, the controversially named boy’n’girl pop enthusiasts making waves in the wake of last summer’s Wizard Of Ahhhs EP, and currently trekking up and down Britain on the tails of Sons & Daughters and Kate Nash.

From bible belt backgrounds in Jacksonville, Florida, and surfing the gauche misfit moment that’s already brought us Antony, Dirty Projectors and Dan Deacon, they’re the must-see live music experience du jour.

“Every time we play live it’s like I’m playing Russian roulette,” says frontman Reggie Youngblood. “Everything’s so tenuous! Are we gonna perform that song properly? Are the girls gonna drink too much again? I don’t know.”

But given that they’re signed to Björk/Arcade Fire’s’s Quest management company, there must be method in their over-friendly madness after all.

Check them out here and there…

Supporting Sons and Daughters…
Mon 11-Feb / Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
Tues 12-Feb / London ULU
Wed 13-Feb / Bristol Thekla
Fri 15-Feb / Glasgow ABC
Sat 16-Feb / Edinburgh Queens Hall

Supporting Kate Nash…
Sun 24-Feb / Belfast Waterfront Theatre
Mon 25-Feb / Dublin Olympia Theatre
Sat 1-Mar / Wolverhampton Civic
Sun 2-Mar / Nottingham Rock City
Tues 4-Mar / Manchester Apollo
Wed 5-Mar / Preston Guildhall
Fri 7-Mar / Glasgow Barrowlands
Sat 8-Mar / Lincoln Engine Shed
Sun 9-Mar / Portsmouth Guildhall
Mon 10-Mar / London Hammersmith Apollo

And/or listen to the following songs…

Hit The Heartbrakes

Cool one-fingered synths and frontguy Reggie sounding like a less infantile Robert Smith, the scene is set for an indie-dance amateur stage production.

I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You

More rudimentary keyboards and guitars make for a more wistful I Bet You Look On The Dancefloor, with extra looseness.

I’ve Underestimated My Charm (Again)

Apology song with hints of Pulp’s Disco 2000, country-ish mooning and a soupçon of A Teenager In Love on the outro.

More tunes and puppyish enthusiasm at myspace.com/blackkidsrock

Posted by Danny_Eccleston at 12:57 PM GMT 11/02/2008