The Kills
Keep On Your Mean Side

THE REVIEW

I listened to this album for a long time before reviewing it.
I wanted the annoying and relentless hype to subside, and I wanted to thoroughly digest this work, which has caused such a stir in the specialized press, without falling into rushed judgments.

Unfortunately, The Kills, the lovely VV on guitar and the terribly unlucky Hotel on the other 6 strings, arrive at the wrong time and from the wrong place (New York). They offer (what a surprise!) a rock'n'roll infused with original blues and stained by various influences all really too recognizable like the Rolling Stones and especially the Velvet Underground.
In my opinion, the resemblance to Boss Hog is striking, with VV playing Christina Martinez and Hotel playing Jon Spencer ("Pull A U"). Equally evident is the comparison with Royal Trux, always a duo, always a him and a her with this junkie-end-stage attitude who are there by chance. "Hand" fully mirrors "Corruption" by Iggy Pop...
We also strongly find the Suicide, who reconfirm themselves among the 10 most influential bands of all time. The use of the drum machine, in fact, can only refer back to the Vega-Rev duo, even though the pieces are "humanized" by truly hammering and distorted guitars.

The electronic drums make the rhythm very claustrophobic and intense but risk trapping the songs and making them repetitive. The antidote would be to insert some virtuosity to break the monotony but no solos are mentioned. I suspect it is more their technical limit than a deliberate choice.

What is the cultural (or economic?) gap that separates the music magazines praising such bands from the "CD buyers" who glaringly notice the certain atrocities committed against them? If, like me, you have listened to and loved the bands I mentioned in the review, this album will sound like something already seen and heard, at times bordering on plagiarism.