It's lame to critique other critiques, but it was a bit much for Spin to bless Kid Sister's debut with four out of five stars. Even under extraordinary circumstances, it's just not possible for her to cut a better album than David Byrne or Count Bass D. That detail aside, Dream Date does more than achieve its purpose, which is to get bottoms leaking.
A hipster Kid Sister surely is; this disc is so up-to-the-second contemporary that it rings nostalgic for beepers and "The Cha Cha Slide." But though she's a modern materialist extraordinaire, the Chicago cutie lets her smoke and mirrors hang out. Homegirl might be famous, but for the time being, or at least when she wrote Dream Date, she's "famous in a Hyundai."
The clear winner here is the David Banner–propped warm-weather gem "Family Reunion," which is one of many reasons it's a shame that Downtown waited for the frigid months to drop this. As disposable as dance records have become, "Pro Nails," "Life on TV," and a grip of other tracks will likely kick around for some time. Yes, she can get hoky from rhyme to rhyme, but unlike the Beyoncés of the world who haven't ventured outside VIP lounges for a decade, Kid Sis is still in tune with what keeps our asses soaking wet.
