Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince have a profuse chemistry, and it has been a constant of all of The Kills albums, starting from Keep On Your Mean Side that was a true garage rock piece and all the way until the modern sound that exploded on Midnight Boom. And don’t even get me started on the plethora of their chemistry on Blood Pressures, the album that was both critical and commercial success.
The Kills are an idiosyncratic band that is not about classic garage rock as The Dead Weather is (it is another band where Alisson sings and writes). The Kills insist on guitars, so they wanted to keep it that way in the current era when hip hop and r’n’b dominate the music scene.
We are used to having awesome records delivered by The Kills because Alison knows how to write compelling songs and her vocal also kicks ass. Still, their latest album, Ash and Ice, is just not good. The Kills have not given us their best.
Technically, everything is well done – the vocal, the lyrics, guitars, production, but the sound just falls flat. There is not one potential hit that can save the album. Overall, the record lacks catchy choruses. Most of the album is prosaic, and it passes you by with its monotony. It is so strange that they have conceptualized good things with barely moderate final product. What’s interesting is that the album cover contains 15 symbols, with 13 of them referring to 13 songs on the record.
Doing It To Death opens the album and I must admit it does not sounds that bad. As the album goes, disappointment grows. Second single Heart of a Dog does not sound like anything we heard from them before. Unfortunately, I am not saying this in a laudatory manner.
Hum of Your Buzz graces the middle of the album and it brings out its essence. It is a mollified garage rock with the focus on Alison Mosshart’s unmistakable vocal that is insufficient to save the record. Even though they promoted this album as something completely different, I am sure most of us expected something better. That’s what you get when you are providential.
Siberian Nights connects post-punk elements with garage rock. It is the most confusing track on the whole release. The only two songs I appreciated are Hard Habit to Break and Bitter Fruit.
I am confused, The Kills. Bring back my The Kills.
