It can be amazing what you can do with so little. A simple guitar, vocals, drum machine set-up should really only go so far, but ‘Tape Song’ proves there is still a lot of life left in The Kills. With this single, they are demonstrating what it is they’ve been doing so right in 2008. Whilst in the past they have fallen short with mediocre slow songs clogging up their albums, this time round they have the balance right, and this slowie is a worthy single.
‘Tape Song’ is a tune that cries on your shoulder. The lyrics are pragmatic but forlorn, dealing with an unstoppable break up. Alison Mosshart’s vocals are gentle for the verses, but almost inconsolable for the choruses. The drum machine is set to melancholy and the riff that accompanies it is struggling to get up in the morning, hungover and unshaven. They’ve added extra dimensions their ballads, and it’s proving to be a strength.
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B-side ‘London Hates You’ is a classic b-side – not quite good enough to be an album track, but not bad as new songs go. It’s the bleary-eyed cousin of album track ‘What New York Used To Be,’ exploring their more Velvet Underground side, with sinister undertones enhancing what would otherwise be a pretty straightforward scratchy summer tune. Whichever way you look at it, there’s more to The Kills than there used to be.
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