The Kills - Midnight Boom Album Review (2008)

Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince have always given us style and substance in equal measure. Having a ‘look’ as well as a ‘sound’ is important for a band who like to stay up late and wear their sunglasses indoors. But there is more to this duo than the cool exterior they exude. From their startling debut Keep On The Mean Side in 2003 to their previous album and critically lauded No Wow, The Kills has produced the sort of bluesy garage-rock inviting comparisons with their US counterparts The White Stripes. This is even more surprising as Jamie Hince hails from Newbury in the UK. So with this unique fusion of Florida born punk goddess Mosshart and enigmatic guitarist Hince that The Kills give us Midnight Boom.

The album opens with the two recent singles and most distinctive tracks. U.R.A Fever starts with a phone dialling before the vocal duelling begins, handclaps, scratching, distorted bass percussion and machine-gun guitar riffs following. The phone samples continue to add a distraction but it’s the contrast in vocals between Mosshart and Hince which are the most striking. At a little over 2 minutes it’s way too short. Cheap And Cheerful also opens in similar unceremonious style with Mosshart coughing over the drum machine. “I’m bored of cheap and cheerful”, she declares. ‘I want expensive sadness. Hospital bills, parole; open doors to madness. I want you to be crazy coz you’re boring baby when you’re straight. I want you to be crazy coz you’re stupid baby when you’re safe‘. It is the ubiquitous song about the perils of fame and fortune in the hedonistic and self-indulgent noughties. After a brief and slightly odd bout of military drums, Mosshart tries to convince herself that ’It’s alright, to be me’ - it’s a shame that unlike the ‘live’ version, Hince doesn’t provide the backing vocals, the band instead opting to tightly edit the single voice.

The album settles down into the mid-tempo guitar driven Tape Song. Mosshart sounds suitably bored: ‘time ain’t gonna cure you honey, time don’t give a shit’. It’s not going to win any song writing awards but it is effective. Hince provides the robotic guitars. It’s only in the last minute that the band really comes to life, pushing the vocals and deepening the sound, like an early P J Harvey demo. Getting Down is a lot more funky, again with great vocals - even when the duo run out of things to say and just warble. The lyrics are typically punk: ‘I’m getting down with your new vocation. I’m getting down with your cute cut wrist’.

Last Day Of Magic is probably the first sign that The Kills can make a complete three minute pop song if they put in the effort. If there is one thing the band suffers from it’s the perception that the duo lose interest and quickly move on the next new idea. It means things are not overproduced and stay fresh, but also the songs tend to be short and punchy. This a happy medium finding common ground between the two approaches. Mosshart in particular sounds energised and enthused.

Hook And Line is another fragment of a song but with genuine charm - garage meets sixth form poetry. The chorus explodes in a swathe of guitar and vocals. The cheesy handclaps starting Black Balloon do nothing to add some credibility and slightly ruin some great vocals from Moss hart - strong and tuneful. It all feels a bit post-grunge US west coast. Then the song gets a psychedelic string injection. In the closing minute, Hince adds some wonderful simple guitar melody. The song is a real surprise. In contrast the one minute forty seconds of M.E.X.I.C.O.C.U is vibrant and messy even when the vocals come in.

Sour Cherry is another great example of the three minute pop song in the same vein as Getting Down but with more substance. Alphabet Pony is annoying, not just the dull chorus but also the predictable guitar riff. What New York Used To Be has a slightly uneasy start, the buzz guitar failing to find a rhythm. The song also never seems to get a hold - an empty sentiment that just gets repetitive.

The album closer Goodnight Bad Morning is another surprise - acoustic guitar and piano, just a smattering of guitars and Mosshart playing Patti Smith. Hince adds some great backing vocals but the song just drifts along to bring things to a very downbeat end.

Midnight Boom isn’t a huge leap forward for The Kills. At times it is the sound of a band perfecting their art, within their own boundaries augmented by producer Alex Epton. Like the aforementioned Stripes, the band does a lot with just two voices and a guitar, against the backdrop of programmed drum machines. Mosshart’s voice is amazing when she allows it to be, as are the guitar pieces added by Hince. But the tendency for the quality of songs to create obvious highs and lows ,and the stark artificial percussion holding it all together, sometimes gets tiresome and predictable. That said, the overall sound of Midnight Boom is full of energy and charm that ebbs and flows throughout the album. The Kills might be too much style of substance, but they are still exciting and relevant. And just a little bit predictable.

-- CS