Dreamy and feverish, hooky and repetitive, obsessive and claustrophobic – that’s The Kills’ fourth album, “Blood Pressures”. ‘Obsessive and claustrophobic?’ repeats Jamie Hince: ‘yes, I like that. After we’d made the record, Alison and I talked about the theme: there’s a lot about gender, about relationships; it’s about sex – so, blood pressures’.

‘Right now, I would say it’s quite a dark record,’ says Alison Mosshart; ‘the lyrics are a little twisted.  I think I always say that about every record I do.  I think we’re just both obsessive people. Obsessive about what we love and maybe even more obsessive about what we hate. I need to perform this record live to see what it really is, and what it’s really communicating’.

In contrast to 2008’s “Midnight Boom”, the new album is a return to the band’s trademark dark guitar rock but with a twist. ‘The music’s changed because Alison was on tour with The Dead Weather for much of last year,’ Jamie continues. ‘It was really freeing to take ideas of hers and to change them musically. “The Last Goodbye” for instance changes from 4/4 to waltz time’.

“Blood Pressures” was recorded at Key Club Studios in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Jamie: ‘it was an absolute second home, with no distractions. I delved into sampling and programming. I spent a lot of time with drum kits. When we were recording the album, I visited a school band room: have you ever been to a band room in the US? They are absolutely huge, with walls of various kinds of drums. I sampled them all’.

-Jon Savage, 2011