Black Kids

Black Kids... we are just moments away from some Arcade Fire-sized buzz. Based in Jacksonville, Florida, the lineup consists of Owen Holmes (bass), Kevin Snow (drums), Dawn Watley (keyboards, vocals), Ali Youngblood (keyboards, vocals), Reggie Youngblood (vocals, guitar).

Compared to this lot, yesterday's new boy Ben Esser seems like a veteran with a long track record. At least he was once in a band that played a gig. Black Kids are an unsigned five-piece who have never been on tour but are suddenly being hailed as the next big thing. In fact, although the buzz only began very recently, it's fast becoming the sort of din that greeted Arcade Fire back in 2005, even the White Stripes in 2002 - if John Peel was still alive, he'd be issuing wild proclamations and making outlandish comparisons with the all-time greats. According to their UK PR, the plan is to release a low-key Black Kids single in mid-November, and there are some debut UK shows in November, but expect them to blow up, big-style, from the word "go".

Talking of "go", Black Kids have got the boy-girl energy of The Go! Team - their most acclaimed song so far is I'm Not Going To Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You, a poignant account by hiccuping heartbreak kid Reggie Youngblood - who has a day job as a male nanny, or "manny: - of his tendency to lose the dream-girls he dances with at discos to the club-footed bozo jocks by the bar. It will leave you feeling simply thrilled (honey) with its call-and-response vocals, ringing guitars and atmosphere of sad euphoria, and that's a promise. They've also, obviously, got a brilliant, eminently unforgettable name that says nothing about what they do but speaks volumes about their determination to stand out from the indie crowd, whatever brickbats may be hurled their way re: any supposed insensitivity about The Negro Problem, to cite another US indie band with a superb, provocative, "meaningless" but subversively resonant name.

http://myspace.com/blackkidsrock