The Kills - Blood Pressures

Top ten musical duos. Go ahead, I’ll wait. Oh, and the ones that played with backing bands don’t count.

Tough isn’t it. There’s a reason for that. When it comes to putting together a solid music project, too many cooks can definitely spoil the pot, but not enough ingredients and that pot can fall desperately flat. Certainly Simon and Garfunkel have enjoyed the most success as a true duo, but their acoustic style had much to do with that. More recently The White Stripes topped the charts as a duo, and over the past few years The Kills entered the fray.

Easily most comparable to The White Stripes as far as style, Allison Mosshart and Jamie Hince have garnered similar attention as well. It’s not surprising then that Mosshart and Jack White collaborated on The Dead Weather. The Kills even recorded their first album in the same studio where The White Stripes recorded Elephant.

When listening to Blood Pressures, the duos fourth album over an eight year span, it’s hard to decide what kind of ear to give it. Should the fact that it’s mostly just guitar, vocals and a drum track be impressive, that they’re able to make a relatively full sound with so little. Or, should the fact that there are clearly aspects missing be considered. Or maybe just turn that voice in your head off and sit back and judge it as if you don’t know who the hell is in the band.

Admittedly skeptical at first listen, Blood Pressures does actually bring something to the table. There definitely isn’t anything mind-blowing, but there clearly is thought and creativity put into the tracks. Hince, or “Hotel” as he named himself at the bands outset, does a good job of covering bass lines and setting a rhythm while Mosshart, or “VV”, covers the majority of the vocals with a style most comparable to PJ Harvey. It’s also worth noting that the drum tracks are as solid as you’d hope for from a live drummer, just without any added flavor along the way.

“Satellite” combines a dub rhythm and haunting multi-tracked vocals that dig deeper and deeper as the song progresses. “Nail In My Coffin” most closely resembles Mosshart’s work with The Dead Weather, but also demonstrates TDW’s superiority. Hince’s only vocal solo on the album, “Wild Charms” has a Beatles and Pink Floydish sound to it, with the autoharp and detached vocals, and a seamless segue into the Lenon-esq guitar riff of “DNA.”

“The Last Goodbye” is complete departure from the rest of the album, and almost seems more appropriate for the closing track. But maybe that would have been too expected. The waltzing piano and soft strings provide a subtle and gentle accompaniment for Mosshart as she bids farewell to a “half-hearted love that will never be whole.” The “Pots and Pans” that does bring the album to a close does so with a fittingly industrial and edgy tone.

Overall, Blood Pressures is a fine album. I just can’t help but feel like it’s missing something. That what they’ve created could be made a lot better with the addition of one or two skilled musicians. They would obviously have to be carefully selected, but the right match could result in a band that is able to branch out not only from track to track, but within each song as well. As it stands, many of the songs come off as flat and limited, but the potential is there. Unfortunately, The Kills are and, most likely will always be, a duo.

Rating
Overall: 2.5/5
Originality: 3/5
Production: 2.5/5
Listenability: 3/5