Fuck politics; let’s dance!
Okay. So I need a breather from all this talk of political doom and gloom for the Dem party. What better a way to divert my attention from Karl Rove than by enjoying some fine Swedish indie pop? I don’t think it gets much more un-Evangelical, non-Red State, and immorally seductive than two pale-skinned Viking lads from the underground named Johan and Peter who want to “turn all the dance floors into a burning inferno of ‘Ba-ba’.” Am I right or am I right?
But wait! False prophets are these? This young duo has adopted the moniker Suburban Kids with Biblical Names. Fuck. Has Rove’s propaganda machine mobilized the youth of Scandinavia already? Is all this talk of Europe’s secular politics just a ploy from the liberal American media to falsely align our European brethren as allies in the fight against Bush? What in the hell is going on here?
Relax, readers. Put down your torches and pitchforks, and halt your protest marches. I’ve listened to Suburban Kids with Biblical Names’ debut EP, # 1, and I have determined it to be safe for left-leaning liberal consumption. There is nothing dangerous about these Kids, other than their sugary sweet melodies, their childish infatuation with Calvin Johnson, and Moses, their killer lapdog. Sweden poses no threat to American civil liberties. Rest easy tonight.
But before you rest—dance motherfuckers dance!
Suburban Kids with Moses, the killer lapdog.
These suburban kids—nay, Knights of the Fey Table!—come galloping in on a horse-hoof driven drumbeat in “Trumpets and Violins”. Acoustic guitars collide with pianos and tambourines as the kids declare: “I want the trumpets and violins to play. I want revolvers and adrenaline today. I want solutions and kingdoms of love. Don’t want confusion and these black walls.” Hallelujah! If that isn’t worth crusading for then I’m not half the naïve twit I claim to be.
The vocalist—he has not yet revealed his true identity to us through liner notes or press releases, only adding to the duo’s Biblical mystique—sings in a slightly off-key baritone that reminds this scribe of Sir Calvin Johnson and Sir Stephin Merritt stripped of their rich timbre. He sings of faraway lands and the rented wrecks that will carry him there, with vitality coursing through his bulging blue veins. He sings of ripped-up letters of rejection from women who dare to listen to Joy Division, with the resigned supposition that “love will bring us down”. He sings in “do-doos” and “ba-baas” just like his proud European forefathers, the Stereolabs and Komedas.
But what separates the Suburban Kids from those artsy-fartsy rock and rollers is the group’s lo-fi charm, which sides the band with twee-poppers like Papas Fritas, Spare Snare, Tiger Trap, elder Belle & Sebastian, The Clean, Aden, The Pastels, and, yes, Beat Happening. But unlike many of their twee-pop cousins, these Kids got some attitude, dude. I half expect them to burst into an impromptu interpretation of Beat Happening’s “Bad Seeds” at any given moment.
I have no idea where these Kids—and yes, they do appear to be a bit on the young side—will go from here. They’ve only been a band since December. But let’s hope they don’t lose their knack for fucking shit up like a gang of Pavement t-shirt sporting, Polaroid-snapping, ferris wheel-riding, Chickfactor-subscribing, seven-inch collecting, orange corduroy-wearing, pillow-fighting fools.
Parasol Mail Order is distributing this Labrador (import) release. Get your copy now or die of thirst tryin’. Full length due out next year. See here or here for MP3s.
But wait! False prophets are these? This young duo has adopted the moniker Suburban Kids with Biblical Names. Fuck. Has Rove’s propaganda machine mobilized the youth of Scandinavia already? Is all this talk of Europe’s secular politics just a ploy from the liberal American media to falsely align our European brethren as allies in the fight against Bush? What in the hell is going on here?
Relax, readers. Put down your torches and pitchforks, and halt your protest marches. I’ve listened to Suburban Kids with Biblical Names’ debut EP, # 1, and I have determined it to be safe for left-leaning liberal consumption. There is nothing dangerous about these Kids, other than their sugary sweet melodies, their childish infatuation with Calvin Johnson, and Moses, their killer lapdog. Sweden poses no threat to American civil liberties. Rest easy tonight.
But before you rest—dance motherfuckers dance!
Suburban Kids with Moses, the killer lapdog.
These suburban kids—nay, Knights of the Fey Table!—come galloping in on a horse-hoof driven drumbeat in “Trumpets and Violins”. Acoustic guitars collide with pianos and tambourines as the kids declare: “I want the trumpets and violins to play. I want revolvers and adrenaline today. I want solutions and kingdoms of love. Don’t want confusion and these black walls.” Hallelujah! If that isn’t worth crusading for then I’m not half the naïve twit I claim to be.
The vocalist—he has not yet revealed his true identity to us through liner notes or press releases, only adding to the duo’s Biblical mystique—sings in a slightly off-key baritone that reminds this scribe of Sir Calvin Johnson and Sir Stephin Merritt stripped of their rich timbre. He sings of faraway lands and the rented wrecks that will carry him there, with vitality coursing through his bulging blue veins. He sings of ripped-up letters of rejection from women who dare to listen to Joy Division, with the resigned supposition that “love will bring us down”. He sings in “do-doos” and “ba-baas” just like his proud European forefathers, the Stereolabs and Komedas.
But what separates the Suburban Kids from those artsy-fartsy rock and rollers is the group’s lo-fi charm, which sides the band with twee-poppers like Papas Fritas, Spare Snare, Tiger Trap, elder Belle & Sebastian, The Clean, Aden, The Pastels, and, yes, Beat Happening. But unlike many of their twee-pop cousins, these Kids got some attitude, dude. I half expect them to burst into an impromptu interpretation of Beat Happening’s “Bad Seeds” at any given moment.
I have no idea where these Kids—and yes, they do appear to be a bit on the young side—will go from here. They’ve only been a band since December. But let’s hope they don’t lose their knack for fucking shit up like a gang of Pavement t-shirt sporting, Polaroid-snapping, ferris wheel-riding, Chickfactor-subscribing, seven-inch collecting, orange corduroy-wearing, pillow-fighting fools.
Parasol Mail Order is distributing this Labrador (import) release. Get your copy now or die of thirst tryin’. Full length due out next year. See here or here for MP3s.
Plus, they're songs are just so goddamned catchy! da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da-da-daaaaa-da-da...
By 
hungrygirl, at 5:46 PM
5:46 PMPlus, they're songs are just so goddamned catchy! da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da-da-daaaaa-da-da...