In A Brief History of Time, the late Stephen Hawking theorized that, when the universe reaches the point of maximum expansion and begins to contract upon itself, time will run in reverse. It was a great relief to me when rigorous calculations demonstrated that time will not reverse itself, and Hawking disavowed his theory. For if Hawking’s initial theory had been correct, that time will eventually reverse itself, it would mean that I will have to repeat my high school years. Only instead of starting as a naive freshmen and growing into a slightly more knowledgeable senior, I will enter high school as a worldly eighteen-year-old and leave as a barely-pubescent dork. The horror, the horror.

In “Seventeen,” Deceived Kids kick my apprehension to the curb. They want to return to those halcyon days, to recapture (of course) the happiness of a former love.

Take my hand and bring me
To the place where I first saw you …
I’m going back to that summer when I was seventeen 
I feel like I was sixteen … 

I’m not sure how old the Deceived Kids are, but judging by their pictures, their journey from present day to seventeen would not be as lengthy a journey as it would be for me. Besides, I’ve learned, as Johnny Thunders said, “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory.”

Deceived Kids are based in Voronezh, Russia, a city of over 1,000,000 souls about 500 klicks south of Moscow. I usually shy away from the Russian and FSU bands; most are just too hard for my taste. “Seventeen,” though, displays a pleasing pop sensibility. The track is well-recorded and the guys are obviously good musicians, especially lead guitarist Ivan Danilov. I’ll give the singer (Artem Shishatsky, I think) an A-for-Effort for singing in English. It’s not bad and will only improve in the future. “Seventeen” is from the new eight-song LP, Only 7 On 5. The album was written by Ivan and Artem. Overall, an impressive offering. This is a band that will be worth following in the future.

You can support deserving independent musicians like Deceived Kids by visiting their Bandcamp page, listening to their songs, and downloading your favorite tracks. And be sure to visit their website and follow the band on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Call now and you can be their second Facebook follower! Operators are standing by! Only 7 On 5 is also available on iTunes and Soundcloud.