It is crazy that music as absurd as ours is can climb so high in the charts

Oct 17 2008 by Emma Johnson, Liverpool Daily Post

THEIR debut album made the UK top five, they sound like the musical lovechild of The Smiths and Suede, played most of this summer’s big festivals, and have appeared on Later With Jools Holland, so you would be forgiven for thinking The Black Kids are as British as fish and chips.

I did at first. But this hotly-tipped five-piece behind the painfully catchy I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You, hail from the Sunshine State itself – Florida.

Yet, following in the footsteps of acts like the Scissor Sisters, the Jacksonville five have conquered our fair shores before winning over their fellow countrymen.

“It is a course that has been charted before – The Strokes come to mind – I think our music just lends itself to the British ear,” explains Black Kids’ bassist Owen James.

“As far as the mainstream audience is concerned, I think the British are more willing to accept our sort of indie music. I guess you guys will get us first and the States will catch up.”

Fronted by singer/songwriter Reggie Youngblood, the Black Kids feature Reggie’s sister Ali, Kevin Snow and Dawn Watley alongside Owen.

Although the lads – who met at their church – had played in bands together for 10 years or so, the Black Kids as they now appear were born in early 2006.

“We brought the girls in for no other reason than to shake things up a bit,” laughs Owen. “After playing in bands with a bunch of dudes, there’s only so much you can do musically. The girls added another element.”

So the back story goes, after gigging together for a year or so, the Black Kids got their break when they were played a festival in Georgia, in August last year.

“The festival was amazing,” says Owen. “We were booked to play an early afternoon set and the sound system was awful, but we played well enough to get the bloggers in the audience going. They wrote about our set and it snowballed from there.”

For the less web literate among you, by bloggers, Owen refers to music writers and fans who can make or break bands in the MySpace musical age.

From the Georgia festival, the Black Kids hype grew and grew. By the time their debut EP, Wizard of Ahhhs, was released later in 2007, they were tipped by Rolling Stone magazine among their artists to watch.

The band capitalised on the hype by touring the UK, where the Black Kids’ debut album, Partie Traumatic, produced by former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler (that sound is making sense now, isn’t it?), was recorded. It charted at number five on its release in July.

“It’s all very flattering,” says 28-year-old Owen of the hype. “It is crazy that music as absurd as ours is can chart that high.

“It is a relief to have the album out and for it to be successful,” he continues. “These hyperbolic labels were getting thrown at us way before the album was out, so I guess there was some concern the hype would not be justified. But people seem to be digging it.” With the quick turnaround from formation to chart success, the Black Kids have naturally attracted the overnight sensation tag, but they don’t seem perturbed by it.

Says Owen: “I don’t have a problem with that. It did happen very quickly, but that does not mean we are not going to last.”

Currently on tour in the States, where an appearance on the legendary Jay Leno Show tonight should see their home profile soar, the Black Kids come to Liverpool next month to play Nation as part of MTV Liverpool Music Week.

It will be the second appearance in the city for the band, following a successful show here this summer, and a welcome return for Beatles fan Owen, who made his first pilgrimage to Liverpool in 2004.

Seems like it’s all work, work, work for the Black Kids. Says Owen: “We have a packed schedule until the end of the year, then we will record some new material in January, maybe make an EP or something, then more touring and recording. Then repeat for the next few years.”

BLACK Kids play Nation, Liverpool, on Saturday, November 1, as part of MTV Liverpool Music Week. See www.liverpoolmusicweek.com for details.