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MSN Consumer Guide (Robert Christgau)

As vision, still somewhere between narrow and ignant. Yet not a boho archetype for nothing.

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Delusions of Adequacy

Everything about Midnight Boom is impeccably executed.

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Urb

An album one suspects will age extremely well. [Mar/Apr 2008, p.106]

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All Music Guide

Midnight Boom is the Kills' most consistent, varied, and inventive album yet, and proof that passion and creativity trump cool any day.

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Austin Chronicle

Intense doesn't begin to describe Midnight Boom, but loop the Russian roulette sequence from "The Deer Hunter," splice in some grainy security-cam voyeur-porn, pop it in the Videodrome VCR, and you'll at least get the picture.

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Entertainment Weekly

While thw band's deliberate nihilism can come off as a little overdone, Boom's nicotine sting--and the pair's push-me-pull-you chemistry--is still ridiculously sexy. [21 Mar 2008, p.59]

Uncut

The results--notably 'Cheap And Cheerful,' which suggests that Britney Spears' 'Toxic' made quite an impact on them and the chaotic 'Alphabet Pony'--are a revelation.

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Billboard

Most of the dozen songs on Midnight Boom are driven more by looped beats. As a result, the melodies on such tracks as "Getting Down," "Cheap and Cheerful" and the hand-clapping "Sour Cherry" are framed with spare urgency, while "U.R.A. Fever" and "Alphabet Pony" boast an urban, nearly hip-hop ambience.

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Dot Music

Not only have The Kills delivered a rock'n'roll album of note, it's one that achieves the rare trick of weaving timelines and timelessness with indecent ease.

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Drowned In Sound

It's a record that certainly stands up to comparison with their previous outings - sometimes bettering them--and, if you've been seduced by their charms in the past, be prepared to fall in lust all over again.

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PopMatters

The Kills most remarkable record to date.

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musicOMH.com

Thanks, in no small part to Spank Rock producer Armani XXXchange, Midnight Boom also possesses of this air of modernity and experimentation which is never less than startling.

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Mojo

The Kills sound and feel like no other band--nocturnal, wayout, untouchable. [Apr 2008, p.100]

Sputnikmusic

If there's one thing that defines Midnight Boom, it's the new sense of fun that The Kills seem to have discovered.

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Paste Magazine

In less talented hands, the dozen songs on this record easily could have sounded like a failed, high-concept art thesis, and to be perfectly objective, not every track really kills.

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The Onion (A.V. Club)

It’s immediately catchy, and as the rhyme above shows, they’re looser than ever, too.

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cokemachineglow

It’s the instant gratification--the sheer consistency of fun--that makes Midnight Boom so irresistible to begin with. It is what it is, basically.

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Hot Press

Even listeners previously resistant to The Kills' studied cool may have to concede that Midnight Boom is a record of considerable energy and excitement.

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Spin

The duo's relentless cool never quite tips over into White Stripes-style heat, giving Midnight Boom the unapproachable, icy allure of a runway model. [Mar 2008, p.104]

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Rolling Stone

Florida-bred singer Alison Mosshart and British guitarist Jamie Hince built new tracks around the same sing-song rhythms. Their dark, sexy electro-rock sounds sharper and more memorable as a result.

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Hartford Courant

Midnight Boom" opens with its excellent first two singles, "U.R.A. Fever" and the danceable "Cheap And Cheerful," and from there things get pretty sleepy until the cheerfully blown-out "M.E.X.I.C.O.," a 97-second anthem so catchy that you'll get a callous on your thumb from skipping back to it.

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Village Voice

More glamorous but less versatile, the Kills are the easier listen, particularly if their superficiality is taken to be deliberate.

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Pitchfork

It's a great trick of rearranging that pulls back the curtain dramatically, but nearly every other song on Midnight Boom seems to be waiting for this kind of moment, losing it to a pile on the cutting-room floor.

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Los Angeles Times

PJ Harvey fans disappointed by last year's meditative "White Chalk" should find Midnight Boom a sick little delight.

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Blender

The world's second-best co-ed lo-fi blues-rock duo are as sunny and merry as they've ever going to be, and that's not very sunny or merry. [Apr 2008, p.79]

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NOW Magazine

It sounds grimy enough to suit the lowdown vibe they’re after, but the songwriting is a letdown.

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Q Magazine

This is a fine follow-up to 2005's "No Wow." [Apr 2008, p.108]

Under The Radar

If you're a pre-existing fan, you'll have to scratch at the veneer quite a bit to find any trace of their former grit. [Spring 2008, p.83]

Dusted Magazine

If The Kills didn't try so hard to be sultry, they might have a similar breakthrough. They're more appealing when you've got no idea what's on their mind.

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The Guardian

The trouble is the album peaks early. Once they're past the unwholesome love song 'URA Fever' and the twangy 'Last Day of Magic,' the band lose momentum.

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The New York Times

These aren’t very good songs, and the band’s agenda--sounding bored and chic, simultaneous distancing and beckoning, creating revulsion and desire--seems to tilt, in the end, more toward fashion than music.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 8.3 (out of 10) based on 23 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

seeds13 gave it a5:
I really only enjoyed one track off this album. The Kills seem to have lost their edge on Midnight Boom. Most tracks feel compiled rather than created. I think the NY Times have the closest review yet.

Steve G. gave it an8:
The only track that falls below 80% is cheap and cheerful, because its clearly a radio single, the rest are, at the very least, good enough for repeated listens. And Last Days of Magic? Too good to be true.

conquer the world gave it a10:
A true style over substance album, or is it? At heart the Kills are minimalist in vein of true indie greats like sonic youth, with the exception that the Kills actually know how to have fun. This album is entertaining throughout w/ no filler tracks. Best of all is the birth of the sexy new lead singer who manages to sound both cocky and intelligent with dark cryptic lyrics. A lot of depth to this album, best indie release so far this year.

Daniel A. gave it an8:
Brilliant and consistent. Tape Song, U R A Fever and Last Day of Magic are the standouts of a collection of stand out tracks.

Emma P. gave it a10:
Diaspora meets goth blues. Results? Evil, hypnotic and decadent playground chants. A truly impressive album.

Grace G. gave it a10:
This is the best Kills album!I love all the tracks.

James H. gave it a9:
Hey screw the NY Times! I love this album from beginning to end.

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Midnight Boom

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