Free Cool Kids Album Worth It, Barely

The Cool Kids aren’t as cool as they once were—but “even when they’re on autopilot, their icy flatness has style,” writes Tom Breihan for Pitchfork. Gone Fishing, the internet phenoms’ recently released bundle of free downloadable music, “should be a major event in the group’s evolution,” but instead it sounds like “a collection of castoffs that weren’t good enough” for their upcoming full-length debut.

Part of the problem is an “awkward match” with producer Don Cannon, “but the main problem is that the songs just aren’t as strong as the ones on The Bake Sale,” and guest stints by Ludacris and Bun B overshadow the Kids themselves. At least one song is noteworthy, but “the Cool Kids will have to come up with at least a few more ideas as clever as that.” (More The Cool Kids stories.)