Midnight Boom

Midnight Boom is the third studio album by indie rock band The Kills, released on March 10, 2008, through Domino Records (March 18, 2008, in the United States). It was recorded at the Key Club Recording Company in Benton Harbor, Michigan. The title refers to the hours from midnight to 6 a.m., in which the band was at the creative peak, writing material for the album.^[1]

Promotion

"U.R.A. Fever" was released as the lead single from the album on December 3, 2007.^[2] The second single, "Cheap and Cheerful", was released on February 25, 2008.^[3] "Last Day of Magic" was released as the third single on June 15, 2008^[4] Two final singles from the album were "Tape Song", released on November 16, 2008,^[5] and "Black Balloon", released on March 22, 2009.^[6] Both songs have charted in France.

"Sour Cherry" was featured on an episode of the TV series Gossip Girl, and became popular.^[7] "Sour Cherry" was also featured in The House Bunny.^[8] "What New York Used to Be" was used in the film Push.

Commercial performance

Midnight Boom was the band's first album that charted on the Billboard 200 in the U.S., peaking at number 133.^[9] It has also charted at number 16 on the Independent Albums,^[10] number 9 on Top Tastemaker Albums,^[11] and topped the Top Heatseekers Albums chart.^[12] In Europe, it reached number 47 on the UK Albums Chart,^[13] and has also charted in Austria,^[14] Belgium,^[15][16] France,^[17] the Netherlands^[18] and Switzerland.^[19] In 2009. It was awarded a silver certification from the Independent Music Companies Association which indicated sales of at least 30,000 copies throughout Europe.^[20]

Critical reception

The album received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 75, based on 31 reviews.^[21]

Personnel

The Kills

• Alison Mosshart – vocals, guitar, production
• Jamie Hince – vocals, guitar, drums, percussion, production

Technical personnel^[22]

• Tom Elmhirst – audio engineering, mixing
• Jason Lader – engineering
• Jessica Ruffins – engineering
• Bill Skibbe – engineering
• Andy Taub – engineering

Charts

References

1. ^ Colothan, Scott (December 19, 2007). "The Kills Explain 'Midnight Boom' Album Title". Gigwise. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
2. ^ "U.R.A. Fever - Single by The Kills". iTunes (GB). December 3, 2007. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
3. ^ "Cheap and Cheerful - Single by The Kills". iTunes (GB). February 25, 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
4. ^ "Last Day of Magic - EP by The Kills". iTunes (GB). June 15, 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
5. ^ "Tape Song - Single by The Kills". iTunes (GB). November 16, 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
6. ^ "Black Balloon - EP by The Kills". iTunes (GB). March 22, 2009. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
7. ^ "Sour Cherry Lyrics - The Kills - TV Fanatic". Gossipgirlinsider.com. Archived from the original on January 4, 2010. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
8. ^ "The House Bunny (2008) - Soundtracks - IMDb". IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
9. ^ US200
10. ^ USIndie
11. ^ USTaste
12. ^ USHeat
13. ^ UK
14. ^ AUT
15. ^ FL
16. ^ WA
17. ^ FRA
18. ^ NLD
19. ^ SWI
20. ^ "color". www.impalamusic.org. Archived from the original on 2017-08-24.
21. ^ "Reviews for Midnight Boom by The Kills". Metacritic. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
22. ^ "Midnight Boom - The Kills | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
23. ^ "ARIA Hitseekers – Week Commencing 17th March 2008". The ARIA Report. No. 942. Australian Recording Industry Association. March 17, 2008. p. 21. Archived from the original on March 25, 2008. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
24. ^ "Alternatieve Albums" (in Dutch). Ultratop. March 22, 2008. Retrieved March 8, 2026.