The Rundown: Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince combined to create one of the hardest, rawest, intense sounds you may ever hear. Alison Mosshart is from Vero Beach, Florida in the United States while bandmate Jamie is from across the pond in Britain. Both Alison and Jamie had been in bands prior to forming The Kills. Alison was in a Floridian band named Discount and Jamie was in a band called Scarfo. Jamie and Alison first met when Jamie (while with Scarfo) happened to have a hotel room above Alison. Alison could hear Jamie practicing, and the two have been friends ever since. After both Jamie and Alisons’ bands had disbanded, the two began a songwriting collaboration. This was done by mailing tapes to eachother between Britain and Florida. Needless to say, that didn’t last long, and Alison moved from Florida to pursue a career with Jamie.

Since that time, the pair have combined to create some amazing music, with little more than guitars and a drum machine, releasing four albums to date: Keep on Your Mean Side (2003), No Wow (2005), Midnight Boom (2008), and Blood Pressures (2011). The Kills’s sound is not easily described. Sometimes it is Blues, other times Punk, and yet other times Rock.

Their sound is certainly unique, and if you scare easily, maybe this isn’t your band. These two give off a bad-ass persona which enhances their appeal - true Rock n’ Roll. What amazes me more than anything, though, is how so much sound and emotion can come out of just two people and a guitar. For example, the song “No Wow”, off the No Wow album, is a great example of what Alison, a very, very simple beat, and Jamie’s guitar are capable of.

The song starts off quiet, slow, soft. As each verse carries on, the song progressively becomes harder, louder, more intense. Alison’s voice quickly goes from soft to angry. And then my my favorite part: the “drip, drip, drip, drip, drip kinda like” part. It lulls you into a false sense of security because of its softness. And then it happens. They jump from the soft dripping to a loud, hard ending chorus. Alison and Jamie begin to harmonize, and the song abruptly ends. It’s the stuff that dreams are made of.

The No Wow album actually reminds me a lot of what Nirvana did with In Utero. After becoming famous with Nevermind, Nirvana stripped down their sound. Went back to basics. Alison and Jamie did the same after their first album, Keep on Your Mean Side. Many people would have said that album was already pretty stripped down and basic - until they heard No Wow. MarsBands.com loves the basic, rough, raw, and powerful sound of The Kills. We think you will, too.