Black Kids

Last year, Florida quintet Black Kids released a free four-song EP of electro-tinged dance songs addressing themes of incest and gender ambiguity. The girls went wild—well, the bloggers did anyway—and somehow the group got signed to Columbia.

Black Kids' full-length debut, Partie Traumatic, contains the entire EP and six more songs in the same party-starting, party-fouling vein. Nearly all the tracks boast immediately accessible progressions and sexual drama. Lead singer Reggie Youngblood usually plays the undersexed protagonist, while keyboardists Ali Youngblood (Reggie's sister, of course) and Dawn Watley tend to play the unenthusiastic love interests.

Album highlights like "Look at Me (When I Rock Wichoo)" and "I'm Not Going to Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You" practically out-'80s the new wave tracks currently being played at tribute nights around the country. In fact, Partie Traumatic could be the soundtrack to a film about a wild night at the clubs, one in which everyone got drunk and got their grooves on but ultimately didn't get laid. While it may seem strange for an album with such swaggering beats to tell such bleak tales, that's something its blogging audience can probably identify with. It's blissful club music for nerds.