The Kills - Blood Pressures (Album Review)

THE KILLS * BLOOD PRESSURES

(Domino Records)

The Kills are a raw, seductive band. Alison Mosshart is a natural, sultry frontwoman. Jamie Hince is a technical and innovative collaborator. Blood Pressures is a damn fine album, and a step forward for the duo. Building on their thunderous bluesy sounds that defined the band before Mosshart's brief stint fronting The Dead Weather, The Kills have tweaked their vision throughout their fourth full-length, stealing away any comfortable feeling we once had with their direction.

Blood Pressures kicks off with the driving chants of "Future Starts Slow," which shows the duo matching each other word for word, note for note, in perfect unison. Hince's guitar howls then fades to a close as we get into "Satellite," the album's first single, and a track surprisingly heavy on dirty upstrokes. The chorus (or was that the pre-chorus?) is a perfectly haunting collection of "ohs," again ideally doubled by both band members. As the track steadily thrashes to a close, we're reminded of the unique rhythms that these two have always been able to produce. Both "Nail In My Coffin" and "DNA" are deliciously head-nodding and capable of book-ending the curious inclusion of "Wild Charms," a brief intermission of sorts, featuring Hince on lead vocals in a "peekaboo I see you" manner. Enjoyable? Yes. Necessary? TBD.

The second half of the album kicks off with the album's best track, "Baby Says." This return-to-form showcases Mosshart's vocals oozing with with incapacitating want as Hince's perfectly delayed guitar scales the track's exterior. Reminiscent of their earlier [more] lo-fi days, "Baby Says" is a statement track, one that says "this is how you record music."  Mosshart continues to shine as "Last Goodbye" gives her plenty of room to put her vocals in the forefront, all while we hear Hince create a sound wall reminiscent of something you'd hear off of a Stars record. As the album comes to a close with the at-times upbeat "Pots & Pans," we can't help but notice that Mosshart learned more than a thing or two from Dead Weather band mate Jack White, as the occasional twang resonates between her vocals and Hince's buzzing acoustic guitar. 

Blood Pressures comes across as a reunion of sorts. Throughout the 11 songs, both Mosshart & Hince give off a "I missed you" vibe; one their fans will surely reciprocate.

Grade: A-