EAN 5034202114925

Born out of a transatlantic writing partnership that saw Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince – aka VV and Hotel – exchange tapes via airmail, it perhaps makes sense that The Kills should be a thing of meticulous care and economy. Second album No Wow is perhaps even more stripped and lean than its predecessor, 2003's Keep On Your Mean Side, peeling back the skin on tracks like "Dead Road 7" and "At The Back Of The Shell" to reveal little more than the propulsive hiss of a drum machine, the looming, shark-like presence of Hotel's fuzzed-out guitar, and the pair's drawled, alley-cat vocals. Sonically, there's clear comparisons to be drawn to PJ Harvey's 2004 album, Uh Huh Her: both trawl through the waters of doomed romance and pitch-black blues, both are aware that sometimes less is more.