The Kills

Blood Pressures
★★★★
Domino

Boys, boys ”“ no need to fight! There’s plenty of Alison Mosshart to go around! After teaming up with Jack White to form the Dead Weather, and making two superbly raunchy blues-hound records in two years, Mosshart brings it on home to her original guitarmate Jamie Hince to reunite the Kills. Mosshart always sings like she can’t wait for the song to end so she can bury a machete deep in the scalp of her latest doomed lover ”“ but something about her brings out the beast in guitar dudes. The chemistry between Mosshart and Hince must be more intense than ever, because their fourth album is also their finest.

The London garage-punk duo have beefed up their once-minimal sound. Hince may be Kate Moss’ main man, but he makes his guitar live up to all the lust and danger in Mosshart’s voice. There’s a new attention to variety and sonic details on Blood Pressures, with a touch of goth gospel in the backing vocals. Alongside the usual scrappy blues rants (”˜Nail in My Coffin’), there are surprises like the poignant film noir torch song ”˜The Last Goodbye,’ and the Sixties mod-discothèque ambience of ”˜Satellite.’ All over Blood Pressures, the Kills build up a mood of seething sexual tension ”“ like everybody in the club is getting hot but nobody’s getting lucky.

Key Tracks: ”˜Nail in My Coffin,’ ”˜The Last Goodbye’