KEY POINTS:
The Kills
Midnight Boom (Domino)
Verdict: The Kills produce a rare combination of style and substance.
Herald Rating: * * * *
You might expect an album inspired by schoolyard chants to sound childish. But when it's by the perennially sultry and sullen London-based two-piece The Kills, it is anything but.
Midnight Boom, the duo's third album, was inspired by the 1967 documentary Pizza Pizza Daddy-o about American school children's clapping games and songs. The album's simple singalong tunes and cheerleader chants are mixed with the band's signature dark electro rock to create a series of catchy beats that beckon you to dance.
The ringing phone beat of U.R.A Fever, introduces listeners to the band's bolshier new sound, followed by the clanking Cheap and Cheerful. It's a sound that sees American Alison Mosshart downplay her usual purr, although it still surfaces on tracks like Black Balloon and the beautiful closer Goodnight Bad Morning.
The palpable chemistry between Mosshart and Jamie Hince also seems to have been toned down for this record, which is altogether looser than their earlier efforts. The swaggering hipsters will never be a jovial pair, but you can imagine they may actually have cracked a smile during the recording of M.E.X.I.C.O and Sour Cherry. Fans of The Kills will know better than to look for hidden meanings in the pair's lyrics and Midnight Boom is no exception. Chances are you'll be too busy dancing to notice.
