The Kills

The Kills are rock ‘n’ roll at its leanest and most lethal. When Florida punk siren Alison (“VV”) Mosshart met English guitarist Jamie (“Hotel”) Hince in 2000, their instant chemistry turned into a fruitful long-distance partnership when they began writing songs separately and exchanging tapes across the pond. Powered by Mosshart’s menacing snarls, Hince’s bluesy garage riffs, and a crude drum machine, the duo’s sexy, sleazy 2003 debut album, Keep On Your Mean Side, broke through with a vengeance. In the years since, they’ve never shied away from that edge, slipping into darker, starker post-punk on 2005’s No Wow and brash, boisterous electroclash on 2008’s Midnight Boom. While Mosshart joined indie supergroup The Dead Weather (alongside rock hero Jack White) in 2009, she soon returned to The Kills for 2011’s Blood Pressures, a swaggering dip into swampy struts and brooding balladry. Five years later, after Hince suffered a major injury to his left hand—severely affecting his guitar playing—the duo came back strong with Ash & Ice, another feverish showcase of their raw, ragged intensity.