KIDS AT RISK

"One of last year’s largely unheralded surprises was Sugar, the Pixies-like gritty/sweet single from Kids At Risk that burst forth into not enough headphones around the country, but charmed its way into the heads of those who did hear it. In fact, in the six months since Sugar was Rave’s Single Of The Week, it’s made its way onto my Most Played iTunes list, a stat that judging from the lonely turnout to my tickertape parade this weekend, y’all evidently don’t give a shit about. Now, where there was one song, there are four – an EP that includes the ridiculously addictive Sugar, and the nu-Brit stadium sounds of I Am A Fire. These four Sydney kids are so freaking now they make anyone with non-fake ID feel past it. They’re as 2010 as driving through the Clem7 while it’s still free. But unlike the hordes of mindless “So Now I Don’t Care What Came Before” pastel-enthusiasts that flood the Valley each Saturday night, Kids At Risk demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the influences they draw from – Structures On The Moon and Biggest Fan have pre-grunge American alternative blood flowing through their quiet/loud veins. Across the four songs there’s a feeling that‘s familiar but still exciting, and especially from a debut, you honestly can’t ask for more than that." - Rave Magazine

http:// - Sydney Morning Herald

"Kids At Risk are a band to watch. Their debut single ‘Sugar’ is a, excuse the pun, sweet and delectable ditty with all the elements that make a great song unforgettable. With cute lyrics, ‘Sugar’ is a sort of ode to all the delicious candy-related treats in our lives wrapped around a cool neo Grudge beat. Playing with indie, pop and rock chords, the track has an absolutely rocking bridge that builds into tempo with a pumping and gnawing guitar rift before exploding into a mess of funk inspired bass notes. Honestly, it is complete genre-fusion pandemonium.

A whole lot of fun but with some serious talent, Kids At Rock have in their hot little hands a dreamy hit. Sugar may only be three minutes long but it’s delicious bliss from start to finish." - Mediasearch

"This EP really does feel like a hark back to the late ’90’s Britrock scene. Aside from a heavy cockney twang infusing the vocals of Sep Caton (as far as one can tell, these boys are Sydney born & bred), there is a clear colouring of the high-octane pummelling guitars and yelping backing vocals that made Supergrass such a potent cocktail back in the day.

Unlike so many (shudder to use the term) ‘pop/punk’ bands, Kids At Risk have an advantage over most others in that their songs actually have viable melodies, sharp lyrics and a sense of dynamic. I Am A Fire could be seen as the cop-show introductory scene – hard, fast, full of rhetoric and bitter panic.

By contrast, the melancholic harmonies saturating Sugar show us another side of the band – that particularly 80’s style of youth sentimentalism and head-swaying pop combined with a darkness of texture, bringing to mind the mid-paced ballads of the Cure, the Smiths etc. This first record could well set these boys up for a healthy career as an ‘energy’ band of some merit, rather than a dumb-faced hack-and-slash affair." - Alternative Media Group

"I am intrigued by them... it's almost our version of Los Campesinos really that I hear on this song..." - Richard Kingsmill - Triple J Unearthed

"From the brains of Sydneyside self-professed grunge folk Kids At Risk comes the most surprising track of the week – the adorably sweet guitar pop of Sugar. What’s most surprising about this self-descriptive song is that it takes a concerted effort to see anything grunge about it. A playful melody, alternating and building rounds of vocals, and lyrics that say you’re so sweet that "you’re like sugar"... it sounds far more like the Archies than Alice In Chains. This is P-O-P.

But look past the genre stereotypes and you’ll find a group that’s got a shadowy side (it all ends with Obesity / Diabetes) and is clearly infatuated with the bouncy end of the Pixies’ work. Taking Frank Black’s ability to intertwine the dark and light into something that fulfils the listener’s need for both, Sugar is pop music that’s not over-glossed, over-annoying or over-twee – granulated but unrefined. Dusting the icing sugar off the mood ring, it’s shining a crystal blue, which apparently means ‘Relaxed, At Ease’, and despite the early genre-confusion, that’s exactly what Sugar provides." - Rave Magazine

"These kids (pun intended) pull off some wicked riffs... a pretty damn solid band in general... i love it" - http://www.theaureview.com

"Led by tall drink of slightly murky water, Sep Caton, and with a sound that solves the age old question - What would happen if the Pixies, the Kings of Leon* and the Arcade Fire had the sex and made a baby? - this unreasonably attractive band freaking rocks. Their stage presence is worthy of stadium super-stardom, their sound is tight as Pete Wentz's pants, but raw in all the right places (unlike Pete Wentz's pants), and they are so damned stylish I am convinced that bass player and uber-hottie Larissa Rate has fashion bitch-slapped the rest of the band into sartorial submission. My often unreliable sources inform me that their début single (and my second favourite song of the set) 'Sugar' will be available on iTunes November 14, with a self-titled EP ready for public consumption early 2010. And I, for one, will be buying the hell out of them.

*Back when they were, you know, good. - www.twothousand.com

"The first single “Sugar” is (pardon the pun) a sweet little number. Sugar is served with a very We’re Going To Be Friends-esque guitar melody but a far more palatable vocal that the unique sharpness to Jack White’s vocals, Sugar’s guitar and vocals compliment rather than contrast. Without going too far in trying to layer the two vocalists Sugar demonstrates some very delicate and thoughtful execution. Yunno I think that is what tastes sweetest about Sugar, that while being carefully constructed, there are never two many flavours over taking at any one time. Rather the track simmers and sizzles all the while without burning what is a finely crafted pop rock song. This accuracy in achieving a balance between the pop hook and the sweet crunch of guitar is where Kids at Risk achieve their best success." - www.whiteboydancefloor.blogspot.com