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Avg: 4.0 (411 ratings)
- Date Released: March 18, 2008
- Genre: Alternative/Punk
- Style: Garage Rock
- Label: Domino Recording Co
Brilliantly rejuvenating themselves, the Kills demonstrate how much you can do with very little.
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We Say...
Like most contemporary duos, the Kills are both constrained and liberated by their format: They need to draw their energy from within a small unit, but also channel it out into something bigger than the sum of their limited parts. Some duos choose to evolve by super-sizing with guests, but on their third full-length, Alison “VV” Mosshart and Jamie “Hotel” Hince have chosen to make minimal adjustments that resonate maximally. The most stunning of them is that the Kills have discovered their inner groove. (No wonder Spank Rock’s XXXChange helps out on production on a few tracks.) It still sounds like there’s only two of them — they haven’t suddenly gone orch-pop or anything — but many of the tracks have a great pulse that’s all the more sexy for not being in-your-face (just check out “Cheap and Cheerful,” “Last Day of Magic,” “Hook and Line” or “Alphabet Pony”). And almost of all them throw in a simple, deadly break: well-placed handclaps or a sudden acceleration that hurtles them to the finish line. “Hook and Line,” for instance, is a lesson in how to wring out maximum effect out of a relatively simple tune; it brings to mind the ruthless efficiency of PJ Harvey’s debut, paired with the brooding sexiness of early Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Brilliantly rejuvenating themselves, the Kills demonstrate how much you can do with very little.
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They Say...
In the three years between No Wow and Midnight Boom, it sounds like the Kills discovered that having fun is actually much cooler than searching for haughty minimalist rock perfection. While Keep on Your Mean Side and No Wow's sinuous snarls were about as savagely spare and sexy as it's possible to get, their minimalism bordered on monochromatic. Midnight Boom bleeds color, excitement, and emotion into VV and Hotel's music, transforming it into daring, dirty pop that is unrepentantly glamorous and tender, high-end and trashy, and it glitters like diamonds mixed with broken glass. It's even structured like a classic pop album, opening with two bold salvos: "U.R.A. Fever" fashions dial tones, cryptically sexy banter, a foot-stomping, hand-clapping beat, and sneering shards of guitar into a fiercely catchy single. It struts with the best of the Kills' previous work, but opens their sound to many more possibilities. "Cheap and Cheerful" gets even wilder, combining VV's high-maintenance sass with a rhythm forged out of slamming doors and coughing, approximating a collaboration between Joan Jett and Matmos. These songs, and the rest of Midnight Boom, are nearly as minimalist as the Kills' other albums, but the duo plays with sounds much more: spring-loaded guitars and fanciful, detailed beats pop up when least expected, but everything falls into place effortlessly. This may be the Kills' most processed, produced music, but it's some of their roughest and rawest-sounding, too, with "Alphabet Pony" and "Hook and Line" rocking just as hard, and with more conviction, than their earlier work. The Kills also bring more feeling to Midnight Boom, which is just as crucial -- and arguably, more daring -- to the album's brilliance as is the band's newfound sonic adventurousness. "Getting Down"'s cheeky, hip-shaking, babbling nonsense brings the fun of the Kills' best singles to the fore, as does "Sour Cherry," which makes the hand-jive rhythm sound hip for the first time in half a century (the nasty, buzzing, three-note guitar solo riding it probably helps). VV and Hotel don't save their soft and melodic sides for just a token ballad, as they've done before -- although Midnight Boom's big ballad, "Goodnight Bad Morning," comes on like the Velvets' "Sunday Morning" with the force of 40 more years of hangovers and comedowns fuelling it. "Black Balloon" is as epic as it is vulnerable, its slow-building majesty making it a standout. Even the semi-sweet electro rockabilly of "Last Day of Magic" has a yearning that resonates with a surprising depth. Best of all is "What New York Used to Be," a last hurrah that sounds urgent, not nostalgic, although its wall of staticky guitars come into focus like a memory. A list of everything that once was great, it's a song about not being too cool to care, even if it's delivered with a wink. Midnight Boom is the Kills' most consistent, varied, and inventive album yet, and proof that passion and creativity trump cool any day.
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| 01. |  |
U.R.A Fever |
2:16 |
|
| 02. | |
Cheap And Cheerful |
2:26 |
|
| 03. | |
Tape Song |
3:35 |
|
| 04. | |
Getting Down |
2:55 |
|
| 05. | |
Last Day Of Magic |
3:21 |
|
| 06. | |
Hook And Line |
2:03 |
|
| 07. | |
Black Balloon |
3:46 |
|
| 08. | |
M.E.X.I.C.O. |
1:37 |
|
| 09. | |
Sour Cherry |
3:06 |
|
| 10. | |
Alphabet Pony |
1:45 |
|
| 11. | |
What New York Used To Be |
3:15 |
|
| 12. | |
Goodnight Bad Morning |
3:51 |
|
12 Total Tracks, 33:56 Total Length
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Credits
- Andy Taub - Engineer // Tom Elmhirst - Mixing // Jessica Ruffins - Engineer // Bill Skibbe - Engineer // Jason Lader - Engineer
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