The Kills
Blood Pressures
Domino
If there is a band
that can present a
better example of
the non-necessity of a drummer and bassist,
they haven’t shown themselves yet. The Kills
continue to please with their brand of thickly
layered, fuzz-laden, lo-fi blues-punk on their
new record
Blood Pressures.
The Kills were born from a chance
meeting in 2000 when Jamie Hince and
Allison Mosshart were each playing in
their respective punk outfits (Hince with
Scarfo and Mosshart with Discount). They
then struck up a trans-Atlantic friendship
by sending tapes and ideas back and forth
between Florida and London. Hince and
Mosshart (aka Hotel and VV) released a
demo in 2001, shortly following Mosshart’s
trip over the water so they could collaborate
at a faster pace than airmail.
Some 11 years later—and after
Mosshart’s collaboration and tour with
Jack White and Dead Weather—
Blood
Pressures is the Kills’ fourth album, and
probably they’re most accessible to date.
Hince’s minimalistic but devilish guitar
licks thread the overdriven samples
together throughout, from the in-your-face
fuzz-dub jam and dark chords in
“Satellite” to the driven and jumpy beat
of “Nail in My Coffin.” And he shares
his hauntingly Lennon-esque vocals while
crooning the dark and psychedelic country/pop “Wild Charms.”
All said, it’s Mosshart’s narcotic vox that
really seals the deal for the Kills’ trademark
“we got you now, stay with us” infectious
melodies. Often compared to Patti Smith,
Mosshart moves from track to track, going
from subdued blues beast on “Damned If She
Do” to darkly desperate and soft on “Baby
Says,” singing the chorus in unison with
Hince’s delay- and chorus-rich riffs.
From the tribal beat starting point of
the first track “Future Starts Slow” through
the deep and nasty blues finality of “Pots
and Pans,” where Mosshart belts out “ain’t
a drop left in my tank, to move move
move your dead weight,” the Kills’
Blood
Pressures will take yours from high to low
and back again, and then sideways. Make
no mistake—sans drummer and bassist,
and sample rich—this is fine and dirty
guitar-rock.