Spring Break
Big blog buzz ushers 'smut pop' to Georgia
VALENTINA TAPIA
Issue date: 11/16/07 Section: Variety
- Page 1 of 1
On the blog buzz scale of hype, "smut pop" band Black Kids risks exploding the meter.
"I kind of feel there was a knob that adjusted the rate at which we're getting known," said Reggie Youngblood, lead vocalist of the Jacksonville, Fla., quintet in a telephone interview.
"It's definitely on 10 right now, and I wouldn't mind turning it back to six or five."
Instead of waiting years for a big break, the band rode early positive press straight to an upcoming tour in England without ever having toured.
"Maybe we would have performed at Athens Popfest and played regionally and gotten signed to a nice indie (record label) and tour the states and eventually gone to the U.K.," Youngblood said. "But yeah, we skipped all of that."
The band members, ages 22 to 28, play lighthearted pop that he also called smutty.
"A lot of seedy situations and overbearing arrogance, mixed with self-pitying cowardice and a lot of yearning," Youngblood said. "Basically the stuff that most pop songs are made of, but just kind of ugly and mean."
The song "I've Underestimated My Charm (Again)" speaks to that effect.
"You can tell in their songs they like these whiny bands like The Cure and Belle and Sebastian, but they're not (whiny)," said Marc Hogan, a writer for Pitchforkmedia.com.
"Rather than taking that position, they kind of flip it with overconfidence, which is unusual in indie rock."
And the Kids did play Popfest in August, which catalyzed the buzz that landed them a spot in the CMJ festival and caught Vice Magazine's attention.
"We thought, 'Cool, maybe we can play in Georgia more now.' We didn't anticipate anything that followed," Youngblood said.
The New York Times even featured the group in an article titled "Play Well, and May the Blog Buzz Be With You" following its CMJ shows.
Youngblood said he is ambivalent toward the coverage.
"The bad side is people have these huge expectations," he said. "We kind of just have to live up to it."
"I kind of feel there was a knob that adjusted the rate at which we're getting known," said Reggie Youngblood, lead vocalist of the Jacksonville, Fla., quintet in a telephone interview.
"It's definitely on 10 right now, and I wouldn't mind turning it back to six or five."
Instead of waiting years for a big break, the band rode early positive press straight to an upcoming tour in England without ever having toured.
"Maybe we would have performed at Athens Popfest and played regionally and gotten signed to a nice indie (record label) and tour the states and eventually gone to the U.K.," Youngblood said. "But yeah, we skipped all of that."
The band members, ages 22 to 28, play lighthearted pop that he also called smutty.
"A lot of seedy situations and overbearing arrogance, mixed with self-pitying cowardice and a lot of yearning," Youngblood said. "Basically the stuff that most pop songs are made of, but just kind of ugly and mean."
The song "I've Underestimated My Charm (Again)" speaks to that effect.
"You can tell in their songs they like these whiny bands like The Cure and Belle and Sebastian, but they're not (whiny)," said Marc Hogan, a writer for Pitchforkmedia.com.
"Rather than taking that position, they kind of flip it with overconfidence, which is unusual in indie rock."
And the Kids did play Popfest in August, which catalyzed the buzz that landed them a spot in the CMJ festival and caught Vice Magazine's attention.
"We thought, 'Cool, maybe we can play in Georgia more now.' We didn't anticipate anything that followed," Youngblood said.
The New York Times even featured the group in an article titled "Play Well, and May the Blog Buzz Be With You" following its CMJ shows.
Youngblood said he is ambivalent toward the coverage.
"The bad side is people have these huge expectations," he said. "We kind of just have to live up to it."
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