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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
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Midnight Boom
by The Kills
The third album for the indie rock duo of Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince.
| LABEL: |
Domino |
| RELEASE DATE: |
18 March 2008 |
| DISCS: |
1 disc |
| GENRE(S): |
Rock, Alternative, Indie |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
90
Urb
An album one suspects will age extremely well. [Mar/Apr 2008, p.106]
90
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.
89
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.
83
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]
80
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.
80
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.
80
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.
80
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.
80
PopMatters
The Kills most remarkable record to date.
80
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.
80
Mojo
The Kills sound and feel like no other band--nocturnal, wayout, untouchable. [Apr 2008, p.100]
80
Sputnikmusic
If there's one thing that defines Midnight Boom, it's the new sense of fun that The Kills seem to have discovered.
80
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.
75
The Onion (A.V. Club)
It’s immediately catchy, and as the rhyme above shows, they’re looser than ever, too.
75
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.
70
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.
70
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]
70
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.
70
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.
70
Village Voice
More glamorous but less versatile, the Kills are the easier listen, particularly if their superficiality is taken to be deliberate.
68
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.
63
Los Angeles Times
PJ Harvey fans disappointed by last year's meditative "White Chalk" should find Midnight Boom a sick little delight.
60
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]
60
NOW Magazine
It sounds grimy enough to suit the lowdown vibe they’re after, but the songwriting is a letdown.
60
Q Magazine
This is a fine follow-up to 2005's "No Wow." [Apr 2008, p.108]
50
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]
50
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.
40
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.
30
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.
The average user rating for this album is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 14 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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