Keep on Your Mean Side [EXPLICIT LYRICS]

The Kills

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 1, 2003)
• Original Release Date: April 1, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Label: Rough Trade
• ASIN: B00008O31B
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #154,667 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Superstition

2. Cat Claw

3. Pull A U

4. Kissy Kissy

5. Fried My Little Brains

6. Gypsy Death & You

7. Hand

8. Hitched

9. Black Rooster

10. Wait

11. Fuck The People

12. Monkey 23

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The Kills’ debut is a stark 21st Century blues album, the sort of thing that would have struggled to find an audience before the White Stripes broke into the mainstream. So it’s lucky for them--and us--that they had such respectable coattails to ride on. The duo--Alison Mosshart, a.k.a. VV, and Hotel--play a music that’s blues influenced with a garage rock edge, and that’s where the similarities end. Sure, the Kills use a drum machine instead of a live drummer, but the differences run much deeper than that: The Kills’s blues rock is dirtier and more sex-drenched version of blues rock, a result of the shared vocal duties of Hotel and VV. The sultry "Hitched" says it all ("I’ll get my name stitched on your lips so you won’t get hitched"). These are songs that sweat sexual menace, recalling Boss Hogg or early PJ Harvey (on "Superstition" and "Wait," VV’s voice is a dead ringer for young Polly Jean’s). Best of all, these songs are stuffed with hooks. In a sea of pretenders, the Kills are capable of providing some genuine competition for the White Stripes.--Robert Burrow

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Age of Spitting, December 19, 2003

By	SBOR (Rockford, IL) - See all my reviews

Where to start with this band. I first came across The Kills when I heard this was Alison Moshart's new band after the break-up of the amazing Florida band Discount. From my past history with Discount (permanent fixture in my Top 5 of all time) I knew I was going to love this album. While The Kills sound nothing like Discount you can still tell Alison is still doing what she knows best. Moshart's lyrics and vocals are USDA Certified to kick you right in the center of the chest and have you coming back for more. While they will never get the praise they deserve by mainstream America who will always label them a White Stripes rip-off (since we all know Jack White is a guitar god and invented Guitar and Drum blues) I don't see that as a bad thing. The Kills are one of those bands that are around not for the masses, but for the small group of people that GET them. Buy this album and Half Fiction by Discount, sit back, relax and be forever changed

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pass me the whip Polly.., October 21, 2003

By	Takis Tz. (InYourHead) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

When an album like this is considered by many to be the most passionate rock album of the year then that would be nothing less than more evidence that the rock scene has got a major problem.
But such a statement could be easily misunderstood, so, some exegesis is badly needed here.
"Keep on your mean side" is indeed a brilliant LP. It sounds authentic from the get go, and has a pathos that you can't miss even if you've lost all ability to feel.

Musically, it's a simple recipe really, but as it's well observed over the years simple is more than often beautiful. It is obviously influenced -in a -major way- by the likes of P.J Harvey
but it goes beyond that because the whole mix has an intense sexuality, a "dirtyness", and a rockiness that Polly Jean hasn't achieved (at least to that degree).

Having said all that though, it is not to say that listening to the Kills isnt rewarding. It is, in fact, as rewarding as a sin to let "Keep on your mean side" go through your ears. And i'm sure they must be a treat live as well.
If we're trapped to suffer hordes of wannabes, pretenders, untalented copycats and fake hard n tough "rockers" then I'll take the Kills every single time.
After all, this is one case where you cant say "copy Kills music", if you get my drift.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great dirty, noisy, stripped down rock!, September 29, 2003

By A Customer

This is a great album - dirty, twangy, guitar driven bluesy rock with plenty of feedback left in for your listening pleasure. Buy this now!

FYI - they sound absolutely nothing like the White Stripes. If I had to make a comparison, they remind me a lot of the Velvet Underground and Jesus And Mary Chain, but much more upbeat than either of those bands (which are also really good).