Artist: The Kills
Album: Blood Pressures
Release: April 5
Label: Domino Records
Grade: B+
Following the mainstream and critical success of its previous album, Midnight Boom, The Kills are back and better with a punk-infused, percussion-laden fourth studio release, Blood Pressures.
The first track, "Future Starts Slow," despite its name, gets the album off to a blistering start. Heavy bass drums and funky riffs accompany Alison Mosshart's vocals, which soar at the bridge. Minor distortions are added intermittently for good effect.
But the band takes electric distortions one step further with a jarring introduction to the next song and lead single, "Satellite," while incantatory lyrics and repeated bass-beat rhythms slow down the tempo.
It soon becomes clear that percussive machinery is a permanent fixture for this two-piece band. The third track, "Heart is a Beating Drum," is a solid infectious number, and it is followed by "Nail in My Coffin," an up-tempo track sung with attitude in the classic rock 'n' roll mold.
Blood Pressures then hits a crescendo with "Wild Charms." Resident guitarist and background vocalist Jamie Hince takes center stage in this minute-long acoustic and ethereal interlude.
Lowlights of this album include "DNA" and "You Don't Own the Road." Both tracks are monotonous and feel like intermission fillers, with only Mosshart's voice as their saving grace.
Raw and gritty, vulnerable and affecting, Mosshart demonstrates the gamut of her vocal range with the radio-friendly "Baby Says," the anguish-ridden "Damned if She Do," and the heart-rending "The Last Goodbye."
"The Last Goodbye" deserves special mention. Mosshart's raspy voice, perhaps aided by her chain-smoking habits, combines perfectly with the mellotron to create a balladry that is bittersweet, wistful, and nostalgic.
Ultimately, Blood Pressures does not offer a coherent listening experience. It gets frustrating at times and will increase your blood pressure, for better or for worse. But repeated plays are rewarded; therefore, proceed at your own risk.
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