REVIEWSThe Kills, ‘Blood Pressures’

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• SPIN Rating:8 of 10

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Release Date: April 5, 2011
Label: Domino

Given Alison Mosshart's recent adventures with the Dead Weather (and Jamie Hince's escapades with fiancée Kate Moss), it's no shock that the new Kills record presents a more expansive sound from the London-based blues-punk duo. What's surprising, though, is how much their songwriting has evolved: "Satellite" is a creeping fuzz-funk jam, while "Nail in My Coffin" sports a catchy arena-glam chorus. With "The Last Goodbye," they even pull off an old-timey piano ballad about Mosshart's inability to "survive on a halfhearted love that will never be whole."