Kings and Queens
Thrill Jockey, 2006
rating: 3/5
reviewer: split foster


The National Trust is a duo of plucky Chicagoans with their shameless hearts set on bringing the soul, bringing the funk. For Kings and Queens, they recruited a battalion of guest musicians, including a seven-member brass and vocals ensemble called Hypnotic that they apparently nabbed right off a street corner in the Windy City (awesome). Brian Deck was also on board to help cooing vocalist and studio hermit Neil Rosario perfect this pastiche of funk, soul, house, and tacky bubblegum pop.

Their fastidious writing and recording (two years in studio) makes for a very glam presentation of the retro moves they break out, and there are scads of them: flute solos, conga and bongo fills, discoid piano chords, falsetto whispershouts, the word "lady" accruing an indeterminate number of syllables and octaves before becoming the word "yeah" – these are the threads in the polyester they wear, cruising in the perfumed tailwind of "P.Y.T." This is sexy pop wrapped in cellophane, so shiny it's almost fluorescent. I feel like a 14-year-old girl fantasizing about a beefcake on a magazine cover while I listen and dance, and the scary and delightful thing is, I think that's the idea.

In spite of the obvious "retro" tag, The National Trust appear unconcerned about comparisons to past periods of pop music that are sure to barrage them; instead, they seem to focus on recalling an adolescent mindset saturated with rainbow-coated sex fantasies and pop idolatry. In this regard, Kings and Queens is largely a success, especially on "Stages" and "Secrets," two tracks you can slip into any party mix like a cheap philtre. If you've been pining for a fresh take on the libidinous funk of yesteryear, or looking to go back to prurient, carefree days of teenage infatuation, the National Trust is for you, ooo, ooo, yeahhhhhhh.

1. Elevators
2. Secrets
3. It's Just Cruel
4. Canday's Away
5. Stages
6. We Can't Do Wrong
7. Jacuzzis
8. Show And Tell
9. New Sexy Touch
10. Shapes And Sizes