Midnight Boom

Midnight Boom
Studio album by
the Kills
ReleasedMarch 10, 2008
Recorded2007
StudioKey Club Recording Company
GenreIndie rock, garage rock
Length33:57
LabelDomino
ProducerThe Kills, XXXChange
The Kills chronology
No Wow
(2005) 		Midnight Boom
(2008) 		Blood Pressures
(2011)
Singles from Midnight Boom
  1. "U.R.A. Fever"
    Released: December 3, 2007
  2. "Cheap and Cheerful"
    Released: March 3, 2008
  3. "Last Day of Magic"
    Released: June 15, 2008
  4. "Tape Song"
    Released: November 16, 2008
  5. "Black Balloon"
    Released: March 22, 2009

Midnight Boom is the third album by indie rock band The Kills, released on March 10, 2008, through Domino Records (March 17, 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

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic75/100[21]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[22]
The A.V. ClubB[23]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[24]
The Guardian[25]
Mojo[26]
MSN Music (Consumer Guide)A−[27]
Pitchfork6.8/10[28]
Rolling Stone[29]
Spin[30]
Uncut[31]

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]

Track listing

All tracks are written by The Kills

No.TitleLength
1."U.R.A. Fever"2:16
2."Cheap and Cheerful"2:26
3."Tape Song"3:35
4."Getting Down"2:55
5."Last Day of Magic"3:21
6."Hook and Line"2:03
7."Black Balloon"3:46
8."M.E.X.I.C.O."1:37
9."Sour Cherry"3:07
10."Alphabet Pony"1:45
11."What New York Used to Be"3:15
12."Goodnight Bad Morning"3:52
13."Night Train" (UK Download Bonus Track)3:04

Personnel

Charts

Charts (2008) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[14] 66
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[15] 13
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[16] 70
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[18] 68
French Albums (SNEP)[17] 23
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 56
UK Albums (OCC)[13] 47
US Billboard 200[9] 133
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[12] 1
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[10] 16
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[11] 9

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 May 13, 2014.
  9. ^ a b "The Kills Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  10. ^ a b "The Kills Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  11. ^ a b "The Kills Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  12. ^ a b "The Kills Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  13. ^ a b "Kills | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  14. ^ a b "Austriancharts.at – The Kills – Midnight Boom" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  15. ^ a b "Ultratop.be – The Kills – Midnight Boom" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  16. ^ a b "Ultratop.be – The Kills – Midnight Boom" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  17. ^ a b "Lescharts.com – The Kills – Midnight Boom". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  18. ^ a b "Dutchcharts.nl – The Kills – Midnight Boom" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  19. ^ a b "Swisscharts.com – The Kills – Midnight Boom". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  20. ^ "color". www.impalamusic.org. Archived from the original on August 24, 2017.
  21. ^ a b "Reviews for Midnight Boom by The Kills". Metacritic. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  22. ^ Phares, Heather. "Midnight Boom – The Kills". AllMusic. Retrieved March 11, 2008.
  23. ^ Matos, Michaelangelo (March 20, 2008). "The Kills: Midnight Boom". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  24. ^ Greenblatt, Leah (March 14, 2008). "Midnight Boom". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  25. ^ Sullivan, Caroline (March 7, 2008). "The Kills, Midnight Boom". The Guardian. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  26. ^ "The Kills: Midnight Boom". Mojo (173): 100. April 2008.
  27. ^ Christgau, Robert (July 2008). "Consumer Guide". MSN Music. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  28. ^ Crock, Jason (March 20, 2008). "The Kills: Midnight Boom". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 22, 2008.
  29. ^ Hoard, Christian (March 18, 2008). "Midnight Boom : The Kills". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 10, 2008. Retrieved March 8, 2008.
  30. ^ Marchese, David (March 2008). "The Kills: Midnight Boom". Spin. 24 (3): 104. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  31. ^ O'Connell, Sharon (March 5, 2008). "The Kills – Midnight Boom". Uncut. Archived from the original on May 19, 2011. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  32. ^ "Midnight Boom - The Kills | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved February 6, 2014.