And You Will Know Them By The Trail Of Dead

Anglo-American, male/female duo The Kills are one of the more interesting exponents of the new 21st Century blues, their stark, stripped-to-the bone, sonic attack recalling The White Stripes, Black Keys and earlier practitioners of the genre like the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Velvet Underground. Their 2003 debut Keep On Your Mean Side showcased their uncompromising take on the blues while their latest No Wow comes in the wake of relentless touring, which saw them garner praise for their intense onstage chemistry. The single ‘The Good Ones’ with its relentless, driving vocal refrain is a perfect example of what they do best.

The Kills are American singer “VV” aka Alison Mosshart and Londoner Jamie Hince (styling himself as “Hotel”), who takes care of guitar and drum-machine duties. They met in London five or six years ago while VV was on tour with her band Discount. Jamie had just quit his own outfit Scarfo and was working on a solo project as well as doing the odd spot of DJing. They talked, exchanged phone numbers and kept in touch when she went home to Florida. She flew back to London in early 2000, moved into his flat and The Kills were born.
“We found out we had a lot in common musically,” Alison says. “I grew up listening to Fugazi, Patti Smith, Suicide, Sonic Youth, and the Velvets. Half the bands I really loved I didn’t realise were English. He introduced me to some stuff I hadn’t heard like Cabaret Voltaire and Captain Beefheart. Even though I was in a band for a really long time I didn’t have that much of a record collection.”
Her vocal style has been compared with PJ Harvey among others, but the most frequently cited reference point for The Kills are The White Stripes. How do they feel about those Jack and Meg comparisons?
“I don’t think we sound anything like them,” she says a tad wearily. “The only thing we have in common is the fact that we’re a two-piece, boy/girl band with black hair. I don’t think we come from the same place at all. But I like them and I think they kicked open the door for a whole wave of guitar bands”.
Late last year they toured the UK as special guests of their more famous labelmates Franz Ferdinand. Must’ve been a bit of an eye-opener?
“Yeah, they were huge shows for us,” replies Alison. “You’ve got a lot of kids, some of them who are quite young, much younger than our core audience. But I love that challenge, playing for people who don’t necessarily get what you do. Before that we did a tour with Primal Scream, which was easier in that the crowd got it much quicker. That’s where we built our strength.”
Having had to cancel some gigs late last year due to exhaustion, The Kills are about to embark on a hectic bout of touring this year.
“I love it,” Alison smiles. “I find it really addictive and I don’t mind living out of a suitcase. It’s like you’re living a fake life, you really avoid any responsibility. It’s like a permanent holiday being on the road. Though it can be really exhausting too – we’ve learned a lot these last two years. It begins to occur to you that if you want to get out of bed in the morning you can’t get too wild the night before. But we have fun. You just have to pick your moments.”

No Wow is out now on Domino Records.