The Musical Concern

Arms
Kids Aflame (Bonus Version)
(October 27, 2009 – Gigantic Music)

Welcome to the “Shitty Little Disco” and Morrissey karaoke! That might come off as a putdown. But wait, there’s more! How about fleeting vocal imitations of Grant-Lee Phillips and Gordon Downie? Let’s throw in some lyrically adroit John Vanderslice. What’s an unabashed crooner to do?

Todd Goldstein, a.k.a. Arms, has been patiently cultivating his musical life outside Harlem Shakes, the band in which he plays guitar, since 2004. The result is a debut LP that keeps growing longer legs. Originally released in the UK in 2008, Kids Aflame has recently been re-released in the US with three bonus tracks.

Skip the bonus tracks. If they were indicative of the original release, then this would be a one-spin record -- the kind of stuff you nod at, shelve, and eventually forget. It’s the other thirteen that make Kids one of the best of 2009.

Ukulele and finger snapping on the title track highlight Goldstein’s commitment to dynamics; whether between songs or within them, there’s never a lull. Moving from quirky, acoustic musings on biology (“Eyeball”) to the Glassvegas-meets-Walkmen, guitar blizzardry of “Jon The Escalator,” Kids plays through seamlessly. And yes, that includes chorus-perfect mimicry of the Tragically Hip on “Pocket.”

The brilliant little trick is that when you listen you’ll come up with your own list of sounds-likes, and it won’t matter in the least. Arms has scraped together a unique collection that won’t crumble under the weight of the repeat button.

Good for us.

The Shitty Little Disco is open all winter.

JH