No Wow : The Kills : Review : Rolling Stone

Alison Mosshart -- who moans her way through eleven tales of bad love on the Kills' second album -- grew up in Florida hating the sunshine and heat. So naturally she moved to London, where she teamed with Jamie Hince. Together, they caress and torture their guitars for a sound that's bleak, minimal and makes no distinction between sexual excitement, anger and despair. Comparisons to PJ Harvey do not end there. Their 2003 debut, Keep on Your Mean Side, found the duo working raw changes on blues stomps and crawls. No Wow is smaller, more focused, with less hip-shaking and more goth. The Kills' worldview is aptly summed up by titles like "Love Is a Deserter" and "I Hate the Way You Love." Give it some volume and the music's spidery insinuation will pull you in. But you'll want to remember the way out.