No Kids

Come Into My House (Tomlab)

Indie pop and contemporary R&B have often flirted but never progressed much beyond heavy petting. The former waxes fey and too sunk into Morrissey’s hopeless romanticism to saddle up the latter’s gritty lust. No Kids certainly don’t consummate the affair, but they get further than most, like the Boy Least Likely To seduced in the basement stacks. Call it Twee&B: Songs like “The Beaches All Closed” and “Bluster in the Air” manage to meld slow-jam pulses with indie sentimentality, surprisingly maintaining the integrity of both. Like the Vancouver trio’s former work together in P:ano, No Kids’ debut is diverse and intensely layered behind Nick Krgovich’s trilling vocals. “Great Escape” gently intertwines piano, strings, and horns, while other tracks unload Jens Lekman pop (“I Love the Weekend”); slinking, loungey brass (“You Look Good to Me”); and acoustic aloha harmonies (“Four Freshman Locked Out as the Sun Goes Down”). Safe-sex ed for Ivy Leaguers. (Saturday, March 15, Lamberts, 9pm.)

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This article appears in March 14 • 2008.

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Doug Freeman has been writing for the Austin Chronicle since 2007, covering the arts and music scene in the city. He is originally from Virginia and earned his Masters Degree from the University of Texas. He is also co-editor of The Austin Chronicle Music Anthology, published by UT Press.