Black Balloon - EP

iTunes Review

In traditional Britpop fashion, these two London-based rockers have released an awesome EP with a couple of b-sides that rival the leading single “Black Balloon.” Nothing at all against the first song — it’s definitely one of the major highlights of the Kills’ 2008 album Midnight Boom. Alison Mosshart’s vocals sound coy, seductive and euphoric all at once before shifting into a more driving dynamic on her short, allocated harmonies with Jamie Hince. And of course the glam-rock inspired hand-claps are a really nice touch. But on “Weedkiller” her flirtatious inflections turn into a salacious snarl that snakes around angular arrangements of grunting guitars and almost mechanical sounding beats. The stripped-down “Fourty Four” struts with a dangerous ‘50s rock ‘n’ roll vibe that’s more delinquent sounding than anything by the Raveonettes. Here Mosshart sings with a nothing-to-lose confidence and a switchblade cool that invokes images of the kind of leather-clad, miscreant woman who would give Lee Marvin a run for his money in the 1953 movie The Wild One.