Their minimalist boy/girl blues-rock makes for an easy comparison with The White Stripes (and, rather conveniently, both bands recorded their new albums at east London’s Toe-Rag studios), but The Kills (singing guitarists Jamie Hince and Alison Mosshart) plough a darker, more corrosive furrow. The London-based duo’s liking for repetitive Royal Trux-style riffage forms the core of their debut but they frequently explore more sparse territories. “Kissy Kissy” assumes an eerie country twang while “Black Rooster” spirals into a bluesey swagger, but it’s Mosshart’s sexily drawled spoken-word segments that keep this brisk debut the right side of bare-boned.
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