Music Monday: The Kills’ Rise on Blood Pressures

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<> the Grand Opening of the Mondrian Soho on March 10, 2011 in New York City.

There’s too much music out there. There are too many bands, too many singer-songwriters, too many people who own an acoustic guitar—it’s impossible to listen to everyone. Even the most voracious music listener has to turn off her iPod sometime, which means that a worthwhile band oftentimes passes by unnoticed.

I first heard of the Kills in 2004.  At the time I, like everyone else in America, was being bombarded by songs by another band with a similar name: The Killers.  The Killers were okay, but I was growing tired of that annoying “Mr. Brightside” song. And although this transcontinental band (Alison Mosshart is from Vero Beach, Florida, while guitarist Jamie Hince hails from London) had a completely different sound that in no way reminded me of the Killers, I just kind of ignored them. There was too much music. I had to draw the line somewhere.

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This was a terrible mistake. By ignoring the Kills, I was denying myself access to their unadorned bluesy rock sung by a woman whose raw-sounding voice would (when I finally listened to them) quickly make her one of my favorite female musicians. Luckily, I got my act together in time to appreciate their 2005 effort No Wow. Their fourth album, Blood Pressures comes out April 5. You can stream the entire album at the Kills’ website.

There are times on Blood Pressures when Mosshart reminds me of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O (specifically the opening track “The Future Starts Slow”) and other times when she sounds like wailing PJ Harvey. No wonder Jack White wanted to team up with her (Mosshart is also a singer in White’s band The Dead Weather). Here’s the video for their single “Satellite.”

[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hniPVDz12bc&w=450%5D

Side note: Another band name prejudice I have involves the indie groups Beach House, Surfer Blood and Best Coast. I feel like they’re all trying to get me to take a vacation.

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