Tweenage Wasteland

A new wave of cherubs are passing up Pokémon for punk. They’re adorable, but are they any good? We asked JoDina Errichetti, 67, lead singer of self-anointed “Oldest Punk Band in the World” One Foot in the Grave, to see if these snots have the stuff.

Care Bears on Fire

Tiny Masters of Today

Operator Please

CLOCK WISE FROM TOP LEF T: PHIL KNOT T; COUR TESY WORLDS-FAIR; COURTES Y SCORPIO MUSIC; BARBARA TALIA

AVERAGE AGE: 12 PINT-SIZE BIO: The Brooklyn
band has already been featured on a Billboard
critic’s “Best of 2006” list—before entering high
school. They’re key players on the burgeoning
New York kid-core scene, also home to Fiasco
and Too Busy Being Bored. WE SAY: With their
blasé vocals and two-chord vamps, this trio are
old-school classicists dressed up in itty-bitty
Chuck Taylors. Grumpy Bear might not be happy,
but our ears are. JODINA SAYS: “This band is very
good. They have a punk attitude in the lyrics. But
they have to change their name; it’s too babyish.”

AVERAGE AGE: 12 PINT-SIZE BIO: This brother-
sister duo have already toured Europe and
recorded with members of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the
B-52’s, and Butthole Surfers. Oh, and David
Bowie called their first single, “Stickin It to the
Man,” “genius.” WE SAY: The New York group’s
debut album, Bang Bang Boom Cake, is a batch
of feral garage rock that turns their limitations—
sloppy guitar skills, limited vocabulary—into
an asset. JODINA SAYS: “They don’t quite have
their own sound yet. The singer is going to
be excellent once she gets a little older.”

UNDER THE RADAR AND BLASTING FROM OUR OFFICES
^{Yeasayer Foreign Born M} WHO: The four men of Or^acⁿh^ce^hs^et^sra^ter WHO: The piano swings
and the Gypsy percussion Foreign Born take folky _{WHO: Sometimes the}
shuffles, but this Brooklyn riffs, blow them up to _{most compelling parts of}
quartet’s secret weapons stadium size, and don’t _{a song are the spaces, and}
are voices: frontman skimp on the theatrical _{this band understands}
Anand Wilder’s yelp- bombast. Earnestness _{that there is value in}
croon and the choruses this effective is difficult, _{stillness. Their mini-epics}
of moaners and chanters but the band’s clear-eyed _{simmer and explode}
that weave through their victory rock carries them. _{in torrents of guitars,}
deliciously layered songs. LATEST: On the Wing Now _{capped off by singer Andy}
LATES T: All Hour Cymbals (Dim Mak) FOR FANS OF: _{Hull’s tales of faith, loss,}
( We Are Free) FOR FANS U2, Arcade Fire _{and wolves. LATES T: I’m}
^{OF: Modest Mouse,} Like a Virgin Losing a Child
^{Simple Minds} (Favorite Gentleman/
Canvasback) FOR FANS OF:
Brand New, Kings of Leon

Buzzcatcher

AVERAGE AGE: 17 PINT-SIZE BIO: After winning
a high school battle of the bands, this female-
fronted Aussie quintet opened for Arctic Monkeys
and Kaiser Chiefs and signed a deal with
Virgin/EMI in their homeland. WE SAY: Filled
with handclaps and violins, their Just a Song
About Ping Pong EP is the perfect soundtrack to
bouncing on the bed and mainlining Pop Rocks.
This is peppy, preppy punk for well-adjusted teens.
JODINA SAYS: “Nothing has to be changed on these
so ngs. These kids have got it. I would play with
the m any day—they could headline!” JESSICA FORD

< edIT

WHO: A Los Angeles–based DJ who infuses his easy-riding beats with fuzzed-out bass farts, squeals from dying keyboards, and scratchy voice samples.

A charter member of the Glitch Mob collective, edIT hearkens back to a time when dance music felt thrillingly dangerous. LATEST: Certified Air Raid Material (Alpha Pup) FOR FANS OF: Timbaland, Prefuse 73

WWW. SPIN.COM NOVEMBER 2007 41

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