Black Kids on the block

Florida-based upstarts Black Kids have been through the mill recently. Fresh from the success of tours with the likes of Kate Nash and Sons And Daughters, the ‘80s-tinged band of the moment have found themselves in the midst of something of a backlash. Even though their astounding debut album Partie Traumatic has only just hit the shelves, it seems that there are certain faceless members of the internet message board mafia who want to rain on their parade for the sole crime of being too popular. To their credit, the childhood friends haven’t risen to the bait as of yet, and bassist and founder member Owen Holmes seems relatively unscathed by the biting barbs, asserting that he doesn’t care if Black Kids are seen as credible – he just wants them to be incredible.

“As you probably know, we’ve been pegged as a ‘buzz band’ recently,” he begins. “Consequently there’s been a bit of a backlash against us, which in some respects is understandable, but we feel really confident about the album and we know it totally justifies the hype. I don’t want to spend my life worrying about people hating us – what’s the point of that? In my opinion life couldn’t be better: all but one show on our tour is sold-out and the crowds have been great. If people want to try to attack us then let them.”
Owen has every reason to be in fighting form. The indie elite who once touted his group (completed by vocalist/guitarist Reggie Youngblood, Reggie’s sister and keyboardist Ali, second keyboardist Dawn Watley and Kevin Snow on drums) as being the most exciting band in years are now turning their noses up at the success of recent singles such as the absolute floor-filler that is ‘I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You’ and ‘Hurricane Jane.’ It’s something that the group are trying to take in their stride however, and are viewing their success, and the pitfalls that come with it, as something positive.
“It’s nice to feel wanted,” laughs the affable musician. “I’m pretty comfortable with the attention we’re getting from people for the most part. I think I’d feel worse if we had to beg people to come interview us. I’m a bit of a workaholic though, so the hectic schedule doesn’t bother me too much. If we were sitting around all day I think I’d find it a little strange.
“We’re on our first headlining tour of Europe at the moment and it feels like a whole different animal to what we’ve normally done,” he continues. “We usually just play support shows, but having our own production brings with it new responsibilities which we’re coming to terms with. It’s best to just get those thoughts out of your head and play however. With other tours we’ve done, we’ve seen bands who’ve been on the road for eight years play great shows, and now we’re doing the same venues, so we feel kinda guilty about it if I’m honest. I should clarify though that the guys in the band have been playing together for about a decade but we only called ourselves Black Kids about two years ago, so we’re not exactly an overnight sensation.”
Famously forming after meeting at their local Baptist church (who says rock is dead?) the band had played the pubs and clubs of their native Jacksonville for years before finally turning everything up to ‘11’ when singer Reggie insisted his sister Ali join the ranks too. With such a long and chequered history, it’s not surprising to learn that most of the material on Partie Traumatic has been kicking around in one form or another for quite some time.
“Most of these songs are two or three years old,” confesses Owen. “We made the album in 17 days and for the most part we’ve achieved what we set out to do. We recorded it with [former Suede guitarist] Bernard Butler, who was a joy to work with, and I think we nailed it. It’s weird because we’re good friends with Sons And Daughters and they made This Gift with him and have a few horror stories to tell about it! It seems that, for whatever reason, they had a particularly hard time with him, but thankfully it wasn’t bad for us. I think Bernard went easier on us and let us off the hook, which was great because Kevin and Reggie are huge Suede fans. I’d heard Suede before and knew the hits, but I can’t say I’m a huge fanboy or whatever. After deciding to make our record with him, I went back and listened to his catalogue and got a better appreciation for what he does. It was an honour to work with him.”
And as we begin to chat about other bands, our conversation typically enough leads to Owen’s influences. Even after a brief spin of his band’s debut, it’s pretty clear that acts like The Cure and Depeche Mode had a huge influence in making Black Kids sound the way they do, but the bassist neatly sidesteps talking about them in favour of regaining his indie stripes.
“I’d like to have a career like Of Montreal in 10 years time, but only bigger,” he smiles. “I mention them because they’ve a huge catalogue and have really evolved over the years and put out some amazing pop songs that are catchy as fuck but still very intelligent and unpredictable. That’s how I see our band too, only with a fan base a hundred times as big hopefully.”
As we finish our interview with the pop star in waiting, we get the distinct impression that he’s making music for all the right reasons. Even though he may be washing his underwear in the bath in a hotel room in Leeds, he tells us things could be worse: he could be sleeping on a dirty floor in a promoter’s house instead.
“I love playing in this band,” he concludes. We’re writing songs that are dear to our hearts, seeing new and crazy playing and are for the most part best friends, so I can’t really ask for more. Well I can actually. In five years time I want to see ourselves having put out three critically-acclaimed LPs, five formidable EPs and ten number one singles, but we’ll see how that goes!”