Robert Christgau: Dean of American Rock Critics

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The Kills

  • Black Rooster [Dim Mak, 2002] **
  • Midnight Boom [Domino, 2008] A-
  • Blood Pressures [Domino, 2011] ***
  • Ash & Ice [Domino, 2016] *

Consumer Guide Reviews:

Black Rooster [Dim Mak, 2002]
blue talk and bluer sounds for the young at heart ("Black Rooster [Fuck and Fight]," "Cat Claw") **

Midnight Boom [Domino, 2008]
Arithmetic notwithstanding, this combo of adult delinquent chick singer and guitar-wielding male enabler was always more Cramps or Yeah Yeah Yeahs than White Stripes. Outgrowing art-garage blues worship, they cop tunes, big up their sound, and spank basic rock beats. As vision, still somewhere between narrow and ignant. Yet not a boho archetype for nothing. Next time you're in a really bad mood, feel its power. A-

Blood Pressures [Domino, 2011]
Love still hurts, but they understand it better ("The Heart Is a Beating Drum," "Pots and Pans") ***

Ash & Ice [Domino, 2016]
Polishing your minimalism becomes organic as you age, sharpening your songwriting not so much ("Doing It to Death," "That Love") *