The Kills - Black Rooster EP

RETRO! GARAGE! "REAL" ROCK! ROCK IS BACK! Aaah, buzzwords. They always seem to start out as a good idea, yet end up rendered completely meaningless through overuse. A minimalist "the" band (consisting of "VV", formerly frontwoman of Florida's lamented emo trailblazers Discount, and - ahem - "Hotel") specializing in old-school, lo-fi indie rock, The Kills are as fashionable as they come these days, and will inevitably see a slew of buzzwords slapped onto their own music. However, any and all hype-related adjectives are actually warranted in this case. Over the course of 5 tracks, The Kills burn with a bluesy sensibility and unique emotional bent that sets them apart from their fellow denim-jacket-wearing, cool haircut-ed peers. VV's voice goes from whiskey-soaked lamentation to sultry come-on (often within the same song), as Hotel's reverberating guitar lines slide and echo throughout. His joint vocals add an interesting male/female dichotomy to the tracks that is also quite good. These elements are certainly refferential of past bands - everything from the Pixies to Primal Scream to the Rolling Stones comes to mind at different points - but a skewed songwriting ear allows The Kills to become more than the sum of their parts. While many bands attempt to capture the essential sexy, dangerous, and cool elements that constitute "rock and roll", the Kills actually do it. This EP is an auspicious debut that will surely whet appetites for a forthcoming full album, and finally give us a group that's a more worthy of the "rock savior" title than most. [www.thekills.tv]