So a guy and a girl want to make music and they get slammed for ripping off White Stripes. Come on.

I am enjoying this CD more than about any this year. Her voice is odd and compelling and compliments the jagged, hard driving minimalistic guitar work like nothing I've heard in awhile.

I don't care if they use drum machines. They do it better and more creatively than REM did it when their drummer called it quits. Drummers are probably hard to find and then you have to pay them and haul around all their equipment. (Besides if I had a lead singer that looked like her I would say, "No, no. We don't need anybody else. Not even a roadie. Just, ah, you and me, wink, okay?"

Seriously though. This is a great album from a band that hopefully will keep cranking it out. Jack White may have called attention to this raw, garage-like approach to music but a group like the Kills are extending this approach in their own unique direction.

It's refreshing, the lyrics are clever and interesting, and it has a hard-rocking, bluesy edge to it that makes for many and many quality listens.

(And yeah, she sounds like PJ Harvey. I have no problem with that. Hey we are what we eat. That's better than sounding like Stevie Nicks)

Author of:

A Bottle of Rain

Nowhere Near the Sea of Cortez

good album ... buy "Midnight Boom" if you're choosing between the two!

The sound is edgier and raw and they're honed in to a level that is near perfection.

Their debut album was already a hint for things to come. And initially, as i heard "No Wow" i had second thoughts as i was still under the influence of their first LP. I thought they went and fixed something that wasnt broken. But these second thoughts evaporated in a hurry after only a couple of hearings.

It's clear (at least to me by now) that the Kills have an irresistible formula in their hands and it seems they can go on pulling this off forever.

While their sound is yes a minimalist affair, it's richer yet than most bands out there. This is probably due to a very charismatic singer who can effortlessly come close to sound like one of the great modern female vocalists: P.J Harvey. I tend to think in fact, that, to bury her dirty-blues voice under anything more complex musically would be a crime. Her voice functions perfectly like an instrument for itself and it sets the cue for the dark moody and angry songs it delivers.

Sure, since the comparisons are there, the Kills lyrics might not be as intricate as Harvey's are, but then that would be my only critique on them. Because, other than that, this is one seriously addictive album. All based on one formula like their first one, but all of it hitting the spot regardless and repeatedly.

Some of the rather negative reviews i read here are clearly missing the score. Someone mentioned drum machines in a negative fashion. That perplexes me.

"No Wow" qualifies easily as one of the outstanding releases in the rock genre this year if only for its intimidating atmosphere and its creativity in combining rhythm and vocals. With better promotion this band would be going through a lot of people's ears who are actually being content with far less than what the Kills have to offer.

another great album from vv and hotel aka allison mosshart and jamie hince. mossharts vocals are creepy yet beautiful, much as she is. definitely one of the best rock vocalists around today ... hince's guitar playing is reminiscent of early jon spencer blues explosion, he sputters and blasts out bluesy licks and beefheart-esque noises. "murdermile" is already my favorite song of the year!! the album takes a couple of listenings to get under your skin, but then you're hooked. i haven't listened to anything else for a week. get it today.

I saw them play.

I don't care that they used a drum machine. Timbuk 3 did as well with good effect.

I don't care that they are a guy and a girl. Do the publicly popular White Stripes and under-appreciated Jucifer own the rights to two person bands(or three, depending on the inclusion of the drum machine as a robotic entity?)

I think they offer a unique sound and interpretation to the Lexicon of American Music.

My only suggestion is that they eat meat and get out during the daytime, as they appear unnaturally thin and white.

Sepehre Naficy