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January 06, 2009
Sexy Kids
Of all the tracks on yesterday's podcast--which no-bullshit-allowed readers may have deduced is nearly as much '09 preview as '08 wrapup--the one that I'm most feverishly obsessed with is "Sisters are Forever" by Glasgow's Sexy Kids (formed from bits of debris of defunct outfit The Royal We). Indie-pop is a fickle mistress. The parameters of the genre are pretty strict, and it's easy to fall back on pleasantly produced, though rote hero worship. If cute brogues and polite cuddles were all these Kids had to offer, the result wouldn't have been nearly so sexy. It's got added nervous post-punk guitars, and tough guy skins slamming, sure. But it was just yesterday, on listen, like, 42, that the creepy subtext undermining the vocals' button-cuteness fully dawned on me (it apparently missed Marc Hogan when he wrote the single up for P4K as well). You're there, heart-warming, listening to a young bonnie lass giving love to her sis. "Sisters are forever, honey I'm so glad that you are mine." Fuzzies, warm. But then, less distinct comes "Tie us both together and then wrap us up in twine." If you guys are so "forever," why the forced bondage? Then, "Tie a double knot, you're everything I'm not." Unrequited sister love? Have we broached new lyrical ground, everyone? Cheers all around.
The 7" b-side to "Sisters are Forever" is pretty perfect, as well. It's a minute shorter, careful not to overshadow its a-side sibling, but packed full of only slightly less charm. Again, and like most of my preferred pop songs, there's a bit of a dark streak present. It starts with appealingly cooed pleas for all manner of physical abuse, ending in murder, and a cover-up to boot. It's a put on, of course, giggles, fa la las, and some submerged handclaps make even a late song detour into broken glass eating evident as merely the product of some fiendishly bored minds.
Sexy Kids - "In a Box, In a Bag"
The only other track I could locate is last year's dormant "In a Box, In a Bag," a comparative epic at nearly four minutes. The Kids are initially more content to jingle-jangle than stomp about, and the boys are given more screen time than usual, perhaps ill-advisedly. At two minutes in, the chorus sorts out the hormonal imbalance with a drum-thwacking call & response pile-up. After that, it gets back to its casual tweeing, but with more sweet Scots lady vocals in the mix to keep us warm and cozy. Not going to dominate your brain like the other two, but it's pleasant without being actively pleasant, which can be offputting. Does that make sense to anyone else in the slightest way? No matter...
Posted by Jeff Klingman at January 6, 2009 09:52 PM
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