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The biggest advance is that the Kills now wrap their songs, from the enchanting "The Good Ones" to the especially anxious "I Hate the Way You Love," in melodies that are disarmingly sweet and seductive. [6 Mar 2005]
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100No Wow is pure sex, pulsating blues-based rock and roll from start to finish.
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85It's a brutal record that changes you the same way prison changes a man.
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83No Wow steps up to the promise of their EPs and debut LP, a boisterous reminder that kids can still hook up to songs that are little more than a guitar and attitude.
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While No Wow certainly has its missteps, they largely come as a result of the band's most basic concept: simplicity and repetition.
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80Its claustrophobia is total, unique, spellbinding. [Mar 2005, p.106]
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A tight, mean set of songs.
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VV naturally still resembles PJ Harvey prepping for a catfight in spots, but her vocals on standout pop nugget "Rodeo Town" reveal vulnerability reminiscent of the original tough cookie, the Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde. [Apr 2005, p.126]
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If 2003 debut 'Keep On Your Mean Side' was a barren sounding album, their new LP is positively spartan.
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80No Wow is mechanical yet sexy, and a soulful, grinding groove is key. [#67, p.102]
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80Despite the pretentiousness and a bit of a drag in the middle, No Wow is a very smart, very engaging album.
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80They've traded amped-up aggression for seething sexuality without losing any of their muscular bite.
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For all that the Kills owe to P. J. Harvey, they also have angles of their own. [13 Mar 2005]
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[The Kills] use overdriven riffs and ticky-tacky drum-machine beats to create a steamy mood of sexual menace and druggy abandon. [11 Mar 2005, p.102]
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75Romantic defeatism can be charming if you infuse it with enough daydreaming, art-school blues. [Mar 2005, p.92]
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70Mosshart still sounds like PJ Harvey's brattish American sister, Hince still retains the ability to craft tunes from nothing and blurred sepia images of the two of them abound. But somehow, despite all the achingly hip self-mythology, The Kills are still capable of mustering up convincingly great rock'n'roll.
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Stripped down, barebones rock'n'roll that's low on innovation but high on raw, charged sexual energy. [#9]
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70The Kills have put some machine-generated flesh on their bare-bones style. [Apr 2005, p.123]
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No Wow is smaller, more focused, with less hip-shaking and more goth.
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70Somehow, though, the Kills' sludge-coloured, super-lo-fi sulkiness charms despite itself
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One criticism of The Kills is that their stance can feel like a bit of a pose; sometimes it feels like there's a hole where the soul should be. The tracks can also sound a tad too similar.
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It's one thing to strive for the primal truth of a particular sound; it's another to vainly bludgeon a thoroughly pulverized style in search of unsullied beats.
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An above-average nouveau-garage punk record that blends the elements of disjointed noise, R&B-inflected punk and a post-modern pop sensibility into something interesting and enjoyable, but not quite groundbreaking.
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No Wow doesn't make a huge stylistic leap from The Kills' 2003 debut, Keep On Your Mean Side.... Instead, they narrow the focus and amp up the intensity.
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60If you've enjoyed what you've heard before, you won't be disappointed – all the darkness, grime and perversion is here or implied.... But if you're looking for variation, innovation, or thematic depth, it's unlikely you'll find it here.
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60To anyone over 16 it's Suicide/Velvets karaoke, a hacky homage to heroes rather than anything with fresh blood on its teeth. [Mar 2005, p.96]
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60An even more spare-sounding album. [Mar 2005, p.100]
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Generally less intense and more coy, ponderous and forced [than Keep On Your Mean Side]. [Apr/May 2005, p.132]
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User score distribution:
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Positive: 13 out of 14
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Mixed: 1 out of 14
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Negative: 0 out of 14
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7
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JamesH8
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ChristopherL7Rodeo Town the standout track for me.