Kids On A Crime Spree

Kids on a Crime Spree excel at classic noise pop by fusing the meticulous songcraft associated with the Brill Building, the unruly clamor of the Velvet Underground, and a dose of covert punk drive, much like earlier groups that attempted the same blend. Their sound first appeared on the 2011 release We Love You So Bad, yet the follow-up, Fall in Love Not in Line, did not surface until 2022; when it finally arrived, the album retained the original equilibrium between melody and abrasion while introducing several new elements.

Oakland resident Mario Hernandez, previously active in Ciao Bella and From Bubblegum to Sky, conceived the project after an evening spent absorbing girl-group obscurities at a Stockholm residence. The experience lingered, prompting him to craft his own distortion-heavy reinterpretation of that period. Once he began laying down tracks, he recruited two former From Bubblegum to Sky colleagues—Becky Barron of #poundsign# on drums and guitarist Bill Evans—to complete the lineup, thereby establishing Kids on a Crime Spree. Their approach drew on the apparent straightforwardness of girl-group material, then overlaid it with thick reverb and jagged guitars, which soon earned the trio a place on Slumberland Records alongside kindred acts such as Black Tambourine and Henry’s Dress.

The band’s first full-length, the eight-song We Love You So Bad, appeared on Slumberland in May 2011. Supporting dates included prominent appearances at both the New York and San Francisco editions of Popfest. Over the ensuing decade the group issued only sporadic singles—“Creep the Creeps” in 2013, a 2016 split with Burnt Palms, and a 2017 joint EP with Terry Malts—before unveiling Fall in Love Not in Line in 2022. Again issued by Slumberland and recorded at Hernandez’s home studio, the album incorporated pointed political commentary and a modestly expanded sonic range that encompassed slower tempos and twelve-string guitar textures.