The Bamboo Kids
Self Titled (Get Hip)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

---

These versatile, young Brooklynites betray a fondness for The Ramones early on here, but just as you think you can commit that to labelmaker tape they turn all introspective on you, and they do it legit, not in a pretentious, "aren't we deep" kind of way. The deeper you get into the album, the deeper you realize they are in their appreciation of different musical styles and the more you catch yourself swaying to their mellower tunes. "Don't Get Better" is a perfect example of a Bamboo Kids "mellow" song; the tempo tells you it's mellow, the melody, sung in falsetto, tells you it's a "mellow" song, as does everything else except something you can't quite put your finger on right away, so I'll save you some time and tell you that it's tension. They could sing "Summertime" and pull at your nerves with magnificent tension, and indeed most of the second half of the album is loaded with tons of tension. They release it on the final song, "No Sympathy," with a high powered blast of rock and roll that brings that album around full circle. Definitely a band to watch. They're already quite good and highly entertaining, but their best stuff is yet to come.

© 2004 - DJ Johnson