The Kills: Blood Pressures

The Kills
Blood Pressures
Domino Records [2011]









Fire Note Says: The Kills return with their fourth long player Blood Pressures and show everyone they have not lost a step.

Album Review:
Before The Dead Weather and before any engagement to Kate Moss, Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince had The Kills and so far have been responsible for three gritty blues punk based records. There were lots of questions coming into the duo's fourth record, Blood Pressures because of all these other "issues" but I believe that longtime fans and interested parties should relax because with these two, it is all about the music. Right from the opening track "Future Starts Slow", Alison smoothly declares "You can holler, you can wail, You can swing, you can flail, You can f**k like a broken sail", which sets the listener up for the dirty swagger that only The Kills can deliver. This bluesy attitude is what made her the perfect addition for the more guitar driven Dead Weather, but with The Kills she gets to spread her vocal wings. Of course, Jamie Hince adds his mirrored background vocals to tracks, which works well for depth, as The Kills always have something else going on too like in "Nail In My Coffin", which has a crazy grinding of instruments swirling around that continually builds the songs intensity. Blood Pressures will not take over the bands greatest achievements but it should stop any commentary that the duo can't produce because its bluesy slow burn and new ideas, such as the piano ballad "The Last Goodbye" is in full effect here. After a couple spins, you realize that The Kills are fine and Blood Pressures quickly makes you forget that anything else is even going on!

Key Tracks: "Satellite", "Nail In My Coffin", "The Last Goodbye"

Bands With Similar Fire:
Duke Spirit
The Raveonettes
Grand Duchy

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Domino Records

-Reviewed by Christopher Anthony