- published: 01 Mar 2016
- views: 1897
The Kills is a rock band formed by American singer Alison Mosshart ("VV") and British guitarist Jamie Hince ("Hotel"). Their first three albums, Keep On Your Mean Side, No Wow, and Midnight Boom, have garnered much critical praise. Blood Pressures, their fourth and most recent studio album, was released on April 4, 2011, worldwide and April 5, 2011, in the United States.
Mosshart was previously in Floridian punk rock band Discount, and Hince was in the British rock bands Fiji, Scarfo and Blyth Power. The duo first met when Mosshart heard Hince practising in the hotel room above hers, and when Scarfo and Discount disbanded, they struck up a songwriting partnership. For months, the pair air mailed work tapes across the Atlantic; this proved to test the patience of both artists as it took days or weeks to get each other's tapes, so Mosshart moved from her Florida home.
Wanting to cut themselves off from their pasts, Mosshart and Hince renamed themselves "VV" and "Hotel", respectively. Together, they began writing sparse, minimalist songs together with the aid of a drum machine. In 2001 they showcased their new songs on a well received[by whom?] demo tape; however, the pair shunned approaches from major record labels. Recording as VV and Hotel, they contributed the song "Restaurant Blouse" to the compilation If the Twenty-First Century Did Not Exist, It Would Be Necessary to Invent It. Shortly after this they recorded their debut release, the Black Rooster EP, which saw release on British indie label Domino Records and was picked up for distribution by Dim Mak Records in the United States.