EMI America
90994
1981
No doubt you've heard Kim Wilde searching for the beat with the "Kids in America," but know now she
finds it, thus the rest of this sterling debut comes dangerously close in quality to that killer
kick-off. Second cut "Water on Glass" follows the sound from the wild streets to Wilde's brain,
maintaining a high level of exuberant class. Weird staccato runs down the streets of "Our Town,"
while "Everything We Know" chills into an icy groove. Wilde only wants to be free in "Young Heroes,"
and by side two's single "Chequered Love," she gives permission to touch her and do anything
(surprising, considering her pro-pop pop and bro wrote the whole LP); hard guitars and xylophones get
physical, until horns and ska skip into "2-6-5-8-0": by this point in the record, Wilde can pull off
anything she wants and winds up sounding like a No Doubt b-side. "You'll Never Be So Wrong" mellows
the turgid tempo but not the precise passion, and she just plain gets upset in "Falling Out." From
the womb to the end of "Tuning in Turning On," Kim Wilde is one excellent inaugural; one excellent
chapter in the evolution of Hi-NRG; one excellent slab you should own.
-STONE, Cheap Trash NYC
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