Review: The Kills- Ash & Ice

The Kills have always been one of those bands that I kind of fit into the category of the Black Keys and the White Stripes, but I always preferred them. They never had Jack White's guitar virtuosity or the pop appeal of the Black Keys (though that's really old at this point), but they made up for it with a grittiness and swagger that the others couldn't begin to match. Plus, Allison Mosshart's vocals are always great, and her performances with the Dead Weather are what took me back to the Kills in the first place.

Also, another thing the Kills are capable of that the Black Keys never were would have to be a rewarding sonic evolution. Whereas the Black Keys partnered with Danger Mouse and all the edges were sanded off in favor of vanilla overproduction, the Kills were able to expand their sound and experiment while staying true to their down and dirty garage rock roots, and they do the same here.

One thing you'll definitely notice is the presence of a lot of synths on this thing, which apparently had a lot to do with Jamie Hince's hand injury. After slamming his hand in a car door shortly after the release of the bands' previous effort, Blood Pressures, Hince suffered serious nerve damage, and had to learn how to play the guitar all over again, and as he recuperated, he used synths to fill out his sound. The most surprising part is that these synths fit very well, and the garage rock feel of the Kills gets a kind of grimy club edge. I really enjoyed the way that the band kept their sound, but didn't let it get stale.

Out of a total of five stars, I give this:

What did you think of this record? Are there any records that you're really digging recently? Check back in later for my reviews of Deerhoof's The Magic, The Glowing Man by Swans, and clipping's Wriggle EP

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