The duo of W and Hotel, more formerly known as The Kills, are back with their bluesy garage-punk formula and a sophomore release in tow called No Wow. For those of you who didn't pay attention to The Kills in 2003 when they released their much buzzed about debut Keep On Your Mean Side, No Wow is a perfect place to investigate these kids. If you might appreciate a downtrodden Yeah Yeah Yeah's, or if you worship PJ Harvey's earlier catalog (you know, since W sounds almost exactly like her) then the Kills might be right up your alley. Even those who appreciate the more obscure stylings of Royal Trux should find much to enjoy here.

No Wow starts off with the smokin' self-titled track which is tighter and meaner than anything off of Mean Side. And the train keeps a rollin' with "Love Is A Deserter," a tune redolant with menace as W practically whispering the bone-chilling line "get the guns out" repeatedly over Hotel's tuned down Nick Zinner-esque guitar riffs.

No Wow occasionally becomes too sloppy for it's own good, especially when the superior drum machines that are prevalent here for over three-fourths of the album are switched out for live drums on tracks such as "I Hate The Way You Love". W and Hotel sound uncomfortable from the get-go with real drumming, and the drums are so terribly mixed anyway, you have to stop and wonder why they were even added in the first place.

The most pleasant surprise of No Wow though comes in the form of "Rodeo Town" and "Ticket Man," the two mellowest tracks on the record. When she ratchets the vocals back a notch or two on these come-downers, she sounds eerily like Lucinda Williams or Bobbie Gentry, which is undoubtedly odd but decidedly cool. When it comes to all the hype that The Kills frequently stir up, No Wow proves for the most part that they're no novelty act.