The Kills

Just like Icky Thump made no sense without time with the Raconteurs, Blood Pressures, the fourth album by blues rock duo the Kills, makes the most sense in a post-Dead Weather world. Rather than separate the Jack White church from her Jamie Hince state, Alison Mosshart marries the two to make the most accessible Kills album to date, and the best output of either in years. Gone are most of the forward-thinking structures that made the Kills famous on "U.R.A. Fever," right from Blood Pressures opener "Future Starts Slow," a stunningly sleek bullet that feeds into unsatisfyingly par floor-stomper "Satellite." From there, the partners never look back, chalking up career highs with "Heart is a Beating Drum" (their most honest kick to the torso since the domestic violence of "Last Day of Magic) and "DNA," featuring Mosshart at her vocal peak. "We will not be moved by it," sings Mosshart, stealing from the King (the other one) and moving nothing short of Joplin's zombie bones. Wrenched from their very guts, Blood Pressures could very well be the Kills' best. It hits you, loves you and takes you out for waffles. Thank God for that.