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Dec 15, 2020 The Kills By Matt the Raven

While this collection of remastered B-sides and rarities from 2002-2009 isn’t the new album Kills fans have been waiting for since 2016’s brilliant Ash & Ice, it does contain the ingredients that have become synonymous with The Kills: a raw and powerful mix of roots-blues, post-punk rock n’ roll with surging guitar riffs and a sassy attitude.

Named after the drum machine that enabled their initial existence, Little Bastards anthologises the recordings that fell between the cracks of their first three albums. As expected, the tracks are well-played with an honest raw energy and are uncluttered with sharp driving rhythms that are catchy and upbeat. The buzzy guitars are crisply played, and the well-placed synths provide a contrasting backdrop.

But listeners should approach Little Bastards like all B-sides and rarities albums, with caution. Often a common ploy to keep devotees entertained between albums, B-sides and rarities albums usually include some intriguing material but just as often contain half-baked tracks that weren’t good enough to make it off the cutting room floor in the first place. Thankfully though, The Kills’ B-sides are equivalent to most bands’ A-sides.

Opening track “Superpowerless,” along with “Night Train” and “Magazine,” are instant classics with Jamie Hince’s signature buzz saw guitars and scruffy bass lines and Alison Mosshart’s fervent vocals. The duo’s other strong songs on this collection include “Kiss the Wrong Side,” “Half of Us,” and “Run Home Slow,” whose dirty pop and sneering guitars approximate the best from 2008’s Midnight Boom, and the three classic cover tunes: Howlin’ Wolf’s “Forty Four,” Dock Boggs’ “Sugar Baby,” and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ “I Put a Spell on You.” In fact, The Kills’ revved up rendition of the latter may be even better than the original, played with conviction and sung with emotionally charged vocals that only the starry-eyed Mosshart can deliver.

Slower-paced tracks such as “I Call It Art” and “Blue Moon,” while not quite as bombastic and sharp, sound more like precursors to the sophisticated rock heard on the band’s 2016 release Ash & Ice. The rest of the album’s 12 tracks may not be worth the price of admission, but in this age of streaming we don’t have to worry about that. (www.thekills.tv)

Author rating: 6.5/10