by Doug Stone
No doubt many have heard Kim Wilde searching for the beat with &Kids in America,& but know now that she finds it, thus the rest of this sterling debut comes dangerously close in quality to that killer kickoff. The 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 dad and brother 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 ends 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, and one excellent slab everyone should own.