The Kills - Ash & Ice (Domino Recordings) 2016
6
The Kills’ fifth album was five years in the making in part due to Jamie Hince’s five hand surgeries, which resulted in him having to re-learn how to play guitar with a permanently damaged finger. The duo, that released their debut album in 2003, was able to grab thousands of people’s attention without really reaching their full potential. Ash & Ice could very well be the album to present The Kills that everyone is excitingly and patiently waiting for, but it ends being a collection of hits and misses. Ash & Ice is a minimalist record in the vein of The xx or late-Arctic Monkeys, or tries to be, but more often than one would like to admit it presents the duo, Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince, out of sync and balance. An album of bits and pieces of unmatched quality that misrepresents the duo’s quality.