SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE KILLS – GOD GAMES

THE KILLS
GOD GAMES
DOMINO RECORDS

Since they broke into the garage rock scene in the early 2000s, The Kills have stood out from the crowd. Keep on Your Mean Side was one of the best rock debut albums of the 2000s due to its highly original and gritty sound. As the years went by, The Kills continued to establish themselves as one of the best duos in rock and one of the coolest bands around. God Games, the latest album by the band, is not their best work, but it will most likely be another instant rock classic.

The standout track from the album is “LA Hex”. Alison Mosshart’s voice is incredibly captivating, hypnotic, and entrancing. Layered, dream-like, and warped instrumentation, beautiful choral harmonies, a classic garage rock guitar solo, and memorable lyrics truly elevate this song and make it one of the best songs I have heard this year.

Jamie Hince is easily one of the best guitarists working today. Hince’s simple yet chaotic and unusual guitar riffs are always unique and awesome. “103” has an explosive, fierce, nasty, bluesy guitar riff booming with intensity. It is hard-rocking, super badass and has become one of my favourite riffs from the band. The riff from “Fried My Little Brains” probably will never be overtaken, but “103” gives it a run for its money. Fans of The Kills will be blasting the track any chance they get. “New York” features another wicked riff from Hince, but it occasionally gets overshadowed by the other instrumentation.

The Kills are experts in minimalism. Older tracks like “Black Balloon”, “The Good Ones”, “No Wow”, “Tape Song”, and “Last Day of Magic” demonstrate this as so much raw emotion, tension, sensuality, expression, weird beats, and wild energy is created with limited instrumentation. “Love and Tenderness” comes close to perfecting minimalism like other tracks in their discography have but falls a little short. The main highlight of the song is the howls of Alison Mosshart and the guitar screeches by Jamie Hince. They complement one another very well.

“Kingdom Come” demonstrates their outstanding ability to combine pop and rock. It has an incredibly catchy chorus, mesmerizing hooks, and a jagged and electrifying guitar riff. However, the majority of songs from their near masterpiece of an album, No Wow, top it in these things.

“Blank” features one of the strongest vocal performances of Alison Mosshart. Mosshart’s voice is breathtaking when combined with the dark Nine Inch Nails-esque piano.

God Games is another stellar record by The Kills that continues to cement their legacy as one of, if not the best, rock bands to come out of the 2000s.

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