No Wow＜限定盤＞

史上最強ロックンロール・デュオ、ザ・キルズの2ndアルバム!(2005年作品) UKの男女ロック・デュオ・バンドとして一躍注目を集めた本作。パンク、ガレージ、ロックンロール、ブルースの要素を取り入れたクールな仕上がり。あのプライマル・スクリームのボビー・ギレスピーが大絶賛を贈った。米音楽批評サイト、ピッチフォークで8.3点と高得点を獲得。

Its hard to believe that the Kills could sound even darker and more stripped-down than they did on Keep on Your Mean Side, but somehow they managed it: No Wow is one of the most highly concentrated rock albums of the 2000s, with a relentless focus and intensity that make Keep on Your Mean Sides more traditional ebb and flow feel downright slack. The duos throbbing guitars, to-the-point rhythms, and dangerously sexy lyrics have been simmered down to their rawest essences, so much so that No Wow often feels like a stark, stylized line drawing of rock. Less is usually more for the Kills, though, and they sound more powerful, more confident, and more distinctive here than they did on their debut. "No Wow" itself is a fantastic opener, a powerful statement of curdled but still compelling love (or lust), the likes of which havent been heard since Rid of Me. From there, the album doesnt let up until the sweetly narcotized "I Hate the Way You Love, Pt. 2." No Wows variations on its sounds and themes may be monochromatic, but theyre never monotonous. Wisely, the Kills have chosen to let their drum machine sound like a drum machine, giving songs like "Love Is a Deserter" a skeletal clatter for a backbone, and others, such as "The Good Ones" and "Sweet Cloud," a piston-like thrust. The magnificently taut "Dead Road 7" adds shades of menacing, mysterious country/blues storytelling to the bands songwriting, a direction they should pursue more. Though the album downplays the poppier moments that balanced Keep on Your Mean Sides onslaughts, No Wows soft, slow songs are thrown into even sharper relief. "Rodeo Town" is one of the loveliest, and grittiest, ballads that the band has written, and "Ticket Man" ends the album on a hypnotic, reflective note. While Jamie Hinces vocals are also downplayed (and missed), it has to be said that Alison Mosshart does a compelling job of handling the lioness share of the singing. No Wow is a tight, mean set of songs -- theres no room for punches to swing, but all of the shoving and grappling makes just as big an impact. ~ Heather Phares

かのアラン・マッギーやボビー・ギレスビーもドップリとハマってしまったという男女ガレージ・デュオによる2作目。〈男女デュオ〉という共通項を持ったホワイト・ストライプスの〈激情〉とは対極をなす、重く唸るギターと淡々としたビートが奏でる〈氷のブルース〉。そして特筆すべきは、クールなヴィヴィのヴォーカル。その存在感はカレン・O（ヤー・ヤー・ヤーズ）にも匹敵する。一瞬で骨抜きにされました!
bounce (C)加賀 龍一