By: Lauren Mosley
The Montreal show on Wednesday Feb 21st marked the halfway point for The Kills’ North American God Games Tour. In May, they will be crossing the pond to bring the show to a small selection of European cities. The Kills are rock duo Alison Mosshart (f.k.a “VV”) and Jamie Hince (f.k.a “Hotel”) who started making music together in the early 2000s, performing under individual nicknames before settling on the ‘The Kills.’ Mosshart, an American singer, met English guitarist Hince in London while on tour with another band. “God Games” is the duo’s sixth studio album since forming and their first new music since 2016. Released by Domino Records, the album has twelve tracks and runs for thirty-nine minutes.
The Kills were received by an energetic front row at MTELUS. Hince spoke warmly of the opener, The Paranoyds, who they had been touring with for three weeks now and the crowd seemed equally enthusiastic. The show began with “Kissy Kissy,” a popular track from their 2003 album, “Keep on Your Mean Side.” It’s also five minutes long. If Hince and Mosshart were aiming to show off from the get-go, they chose correctly. After over twenty years of performing together, it’s no wonder that the show was flawless. Minor hiccups were handled with the professionalism of two rock stars who’ve seen it all. Hince fought and won a valiant battle against his amp chord while simultaneously managing to continue playing the guitar and Mosshart paused to unceremoniously duct tape the soles of her boots (more than once).
“It’s proof that Hince and Mosshart’s grit and glamour is alive and well” (Duran, NME)
“New York” was my personal favourite from the hour and a half long set. I listened to the album “God Games” for the first time this month and the song immediately stood out to me as one of its quintessential tracks. As a whole, the album is dark, moody and sufficiently intense to carry us all the way through midterm season.
Duran, Anagricel. “The Kills – ‘god Games’ Review: A Maxed-out, Fresh Return.” NME, 27 Oct. 2023, www.nme.com/reviews/album/the-kills-god-games-review-lyrics-tracklist-3514140.