Original image by There Stands the Glass.
Aside from missing family, travel and live music, my most painful personal pandemic-related disappointment is losing a big scoop. I met with the Kansas City trio Blackstarkids on March 3 to lay the groundwork for an audio feature for KCUR. Then the coronavirus hit. A studio interview scheduled for March 13 was canceled. I’ve been quarantined ever since.
Filled with excitement about the then-unknown musicians, I told the trio of Ty, The Babe Gabe and Deoindre seven months ago that Blackstarkids is the most exciting new act from Kansas City of the past five years. Consistent with my belief that everything is precisely as popular as it should be, Blackstarkids has since blown up.
Propelled by nervous energy and the giddiness of adolescence, Blackstarkids’ debut EP Surf occupies the lane paved by members of the Odd Future collective. A bit like a mashup of Green Day and N.E.R.D, Surf captures the youthful delirium of American kids. An impressive set of outtakes indicated Surf wasn’t a fluke.
Released today, Whatever, Man may be even better. While I could do without the album’s skits, songs like “Frankie Muniz” and “Dead Kennedys” are instantly engaging partly because they retain the charming homemade production of Surf. Gabe cites Britney Spears, Fergie and Gwen Stefani as role models on "Britney Bitch". Countless members of Blackstarkids’ generation may soon harbor teenage daydreams about Gabe, Ty and Deoindre.