Taking their name to heart,
the Cool Kids
took a three-year stroll from their beloved 2008 EP
The Bake Sale
to this 2011 debut album. "Aloof", "meandering", and "unwilling to 'seize the moment'" prove to be positive elements for this alt or underground hip-hop crew, both in their career and on album, as this sneaky yet rewarding,
De La Soul
-esque experience displays. Still, it's a new "Daisy Age" as
When Fish Ride Bicycles
shakes off some of the group's love of retro and enters the slick, post-
Neptunes
, post-
N.E.R.D.
world where anything goes, and it often goes pop. Pop-punker
Travis Barker
is behind the boards for "Sour Apples," offering a production where new wave meets
Odd Future
as
the Kids
spit the skeptical hook "I met a couple honeys in my line of work/Some sour apples, some sweet as desert." Save a couple choice cuts from the
themselves,
Kids
member
Chuck Inglish
handles the rest of the vivid production, which is flashy and backpacker all at once, and if
Bun B
and
Ghostface
don't seem at home in these surroundings, it's
' thug wit and prime punch lines ("I'm Park Place, you're Marvin Gardens") that welcome them as friends. The kinetic, mini-funk monster "Swimsuits" with
Mayer Hawthorne
puts it over the top, making the long wait forgivable and the album highly recommendable. ~ David Jeffries