Kills - No Wow

  by Anastasia Grabov

published: 8 / 11 / 2005

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Review

The Kills have tapped into a fantasy of the black and white aesthetics of London/New York indie cool. Image wise they follow all the rules, grungy outsiders, a bit strange, into post modern art, or anything underground. Anything to do with cult anti-heroes seems to go onto their inspiration list. I’ve got to say I think that’s pretty cool myself. You have to love anti-heroes. But among their critics this has earned them a slight reputation for being pretentious. In rock’n’roll it always pays to be very uncool. Think Kurt Cobain wearing pyjamas and cardigans. Or the fact that most band members these days are ugly. Playing the guitar is after all a great way for ugly guys to meet cool chicks. Maybe that’s how Alison Mosshart met Jamie Hince. Only joking. But seriously, we never see his face in great detail, so I can’t comment. But Alison, despite hiding behind sweaty strands of hair during shows, or otherwise looking a bit ill, is quite the cutie in promo shots. It has to be said she looks very cool, quite an aspirational look to copy out and about on the indie club scene. Song wise, ‘ No Wow’ and ‘The Good Ones’, the two main tracks, aren’t my favourite songs on the recent 'No Wow' album. I much prefer ‘Rodeo Town.’ Because it’s soothing and rhythmic, eventually it’s a pleasure to know what’s going to happen next. These songs are a bit jerky for my current mood. They demand your attention,screaming ‘Look at us!’ It’s all voice and drum beat in time, but somehow against each other. You don’t know what to focus on. Having said though that the remixes that accompany them are not too bad. Not track 2, a remix of ‘No Wow.’ It sounds like someone occasionally has changed the programmed tune on their keyboards whilst listening to the song. Very annoying and not particularly inspirational. I’m not sure why The Kills would put this on here. Though we all know that remixes are really there to beef out a single release, not for any creative reasons. I do like the ‘backstage sluts’ remix of 'The Good Ones'. It makes me think of dizzy nights out. And the ‘chicken lips’ remix of 'No Wow' gets better with every listen. It’s very strange. It’s got this odd mix of 80's reggae disco. My favourite bit is a man humming in a Mm-mm-mmmm ‘looks tasty’ sort of way, but to the beat. Better than I can really describe. I think I actually prefer the remixes to the actual songs. And that’s very unnerving. That never happens. I’m a bit dissatisfied, because I was hoping my admiration of The Kills would last a bit longer than this. But the real problem lies in that these songs no longer sound all that fresh. My suggestion, for myself as well as for you, would be to wait a little longer before tuning into them again. They can, and have done, much better. Whilst this single may not be my favourite, it does give an example of the creative extent of their imaginations, hinting at sweeter things to come.

Track Listing:-

1 No Wow
2 Half Of Us

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