The Kills – Midnight Boom

Rock 'n' roll on count-off rhymes: Jamie Hince and Alison Mosshart discover the beat of the streetThe

Kills live their art, and their art is life. That could be the motto of the English-American duo, who have lived out their vision of rock 'n' roll stripped down to the bone on two albums so far. And also for "Midnight Boom", the third album by Jamie Hince and Alison Mosshart, the well-meant warning applies: "Caution danger of life!".

Impressed by a 1968 U.S. documentary that chronicled the call-and-response songs and counting rhymes of black schoolchildren in L.A., Hince developed the idea for "Midnight Boom." Using an old Akai MPC-60 drum sequencer, he underlaid acoustic song fragments with similar rhythms. Enriched with beats from producer Alex Epton aka Armani XXXchange (Spank Rock), "Midnight Boom" is not only catchy, but also sexy - perhaps because Mosshart and Hince are not in a relationship, even though the latter acted out his fondness for women with similar last names in 2007 to great media effect. "Midnight Boom" is a rock 'n' roll ode to counting rhymes - garnished with romance, sex and the glamour of real life.