Are You Nervous? by Rock Kills Kid

Are You Nervous?, the first and only album from Los Angeles art-punks Rock Kills Kid, came out on Reprise in April 2006, the year Rolling Stone tipped them as one of its 10 artists to watch. Mark Trombino produced it, and he gives the band's new wave leanings a glossy, arena-sized sheen.

Jeff Tucker sings and plays guitar alongside Sean Stopnik, Reed Calhoun's keyboards shimmer over Shawn Dailey's bass and Mike Balboa's drums, and the whole thing invites the comparisons critics reached for: the Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen and U2 from the old guard, the Killers and Franz Ferdinand from the new. "Paralyzed" was the single, climbing to number 12 on the US modern rock chart, while "Hideaway" is all brooding tension and big release. The band called it quits in 2010 without making another.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.