Last Days In LA

The Kills “103”

Fifteen years ago The Kills released a song called “What New York Used to Be,” a rather intense track I once described as sounding like the band trying to will a grimier, more dangerous version of the city back into existence. “103” is like that song in reverse, with Alison Mosshart sensing Los Angeles gradually becoming more inhospitable through climate change and looking around like “oh, yeah, this might actually be fun.” The Kills thrive on romance and drama, and what’s more dramatic than a city on fire? What’s more romantic than embracing beneath the “last palm tree”? Jamie Hince’s arrangement sounds sun bleached and hazy; the vibe would suggest sweat and lust regardless of what Mosshart sang. Sure, there’s impending doom on the horizon in this song, but for The Kills impending doom is on the menu in nearly everything they write. Leave it to them to take the worst vision of our future and make it sexy and exciting.

Buy it from Amazon.