Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on April 2011

Best get it out of the way: Jamie Hince, the guitar-toting half of this male-female duo (shades of White Stripes) is getting hitched to supermodel Kate Moss. Now, onto the more important stuff: This is The Kills’ fourth album. In that time a lot of the musical detritus has fallen away, allowing Hince and singer Alison Mosshart to focus on their musical strengths as evinced by this much stronger effort. Not the most technically proficient stringsman, Hince nevertheless has a potent feel for grit, texture, and tone. On Blood Pressure he lays down dirty, lo-fi riffs and squalls that complement Mosshart’s sharp and sassy singing, especially on “Heart Is A Beating Drum” and album standout “DNA,” where Mosshart soars over Hince’s growling stoicism. The shimmering, out-of-phase guitar on “Baby Says” manages to evoke the vibe of Stones’ classic “Gimme Shelter,” while “You Don’t Own The Road” has the kind of riff that must have been reclaimed from a fuzzy carpet in a dirty motel somewhere in the early 70s.