The Kills: Ash & Ice review – the same old riffs, but a spark remains

When the Kills first emerged at the turn of the century, they were a lean, mean rock’n’roll machine. Skip forward a tumultuous decade that has encompassed guitarist Jamie Hince’s marriage and impending divorce to Kate Moss, however, and they’re … well, they’re still pretty much the same. Music may have moved on, but the Kills are still wearing skinny jeans and leather while unleashing chugging riffs and pre-programmed rhythms beneath Alison Mosshart’s attitude-laced vocals. Perhaps surprisingly, they’ve not lost their spark – Hard Habit to Break and Bitter Fruit seem especially charged – and there are plenty of lyrics here to excite the gossip press: “It’s over now / That love you’re in is a fucking joke,” spits Mosshart at one point. But the duo’s tendency to drift towards cliche (has there ever been a more Kills track title than Hum For Your Buzz?) is still present, and feels increasingly tired.