'Death of the Party' is an album that truly has two sides. The first side shows off Kudu’s pop appeal and range. "Love Me in Your Language" is zany, “Back for More” dreamy,“Playing House” a sex fantasy, and “Bar Star” the bass-heavy and ambivalent first single off the album. The second side is more in keeping with Kudu’s live show, and the songs “Leave Me Alone” and “Neon Graveyard” effectively reveal the band’s gothic essence. Things are tied together by “Hot Lava” on the first side and “Physical World” on the flip, both songs earthy celebrations in which the message is contradicted, seemingly, by Sylvia’s otherworldly howls.

In short, Kudu are the band the many have been waiting for. They marry wicked voodoo rhythm to lucid pop expression. They are goth without being cold and boring. They are “disco not disco” without being mired in the early 80s. Death of the Party will appeal to dance music fans, post-punk fans, jazz fans, funk fans, goth fans, pop music fans. A lot of people.