Midnight Boom

Midnight Boom
Midnight Boom
Studio album by the Kills
Released	March 10, 2008
Recorded	2007
Studio	Key Club Recording Company
Genre	Indie rock, garage rock
Length	33:57
Label	Domino
Producer	The Kills, XXXChange
The Kills chronology
Singles from Midnight Boom
	"U.R.A. Fever"; Released: December 3, 2007; "Cheap and Cheerful"; Released: March 3, 2008; "Last Day of Magic"; Released: June 15, 2008; "Tape Song"; Released: November 16, 2008; "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
Source	Rating
Metacritic	75/100^[21]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[22]
The A.V. Club	B^[23]
Entertainment Weekly	B+^[24]
The Guardian	^[25]
Mojo	^[26]
MSN Music (Consumer Guide)	A−^[27]
Pitchfork	6.8/10^[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.	Title	Length
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

The Kills

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

Technical personnel^[32]

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

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 Indie Store Album Sales (Billboard)^[11]	9

References

^ Colothan, Scott (December 19, 2007). "The Kills Explain 'Midnight Boom' Album Title". Gigwise. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
^ "U.R.A. Fever - Single by The Kills". iTunes (GB). December 3, 2007. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
^ "Cheap and Cheerful - Single by The Kills". iTunes (GB). February 25, 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
^ "Last Day of Magic - EP by The Kills". iTunes (GB). June 15, 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
^ "Tape Song - Single by The Kills". iTunes (GB). November 16, 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
^ "Black Balloon - EP by The Kills". iTunes (GB). March 22, 2009. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
^ "Sour Cherry Lyrics - The Kills - TV Fanatic". Gossipgirlinsider.com. Archived from the original on January 4, 2010. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
^ "The House Bunny (2008) - Soundtracks - IMDb". IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
^ ^a ^b "The Kills Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
^ ^a ^b "The Kills Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
^ ^a ^b "The Kills Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
^ ^a ^b "The Kills Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
^ ^a ^b "Kills | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
^ ^a ^b "Austriancharts.at – The Kills – Midnight Boom" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
^ ^a ^b "Ultratop.be – The Kills – Midnight Boom" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
^ ^a ^b "Ultratop.be – The Kills – Midnight Boom" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
^ ^a ^b "Lescharts.com – The Kills – Midnight Boom". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
^ ^a ^b "Dutchcharts.nl – The Kills – Midnight Boom" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
^ ^a ^b "Swisscharts.com – The Kills – Midnight Boom". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
^ "color". www.impalamusic.org. Archived from the original on August 24, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Reviews for Midnight Boom by The Kills". Metacritic. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
^ Phares, Heather. "Midnight Boom – The Kills". AllMusic. Retrieved March 11, 2008.
^ Matos, Michaelangelo (March 20, 2008). "The Kills: Midnight Boom". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
^ Greenblatt, Leah (March 14, 2008). "Midnight Boom". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
^ Sullivan, Caroline (March 7, 2008). "The Kills, Midnight Boom". The Guardian. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
^ "The Kills: Midnight Boom". Mojo (173): 100. April 2008.
^ Christgau, Robert (July 2008). "Consumer Guide". MSN Music. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
^ Crock, Jason (March 20, 2008). "The Kills: Midnight Boom". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 22, 2008.
^ Hoard, Christian (March 18, 2008). "Midnight Boom : The Kills". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 10, 2008. Retrieved March 8, 2008.
^ Marchese, David (March 2008). "The Kills: Midnight Boom". Spin. 24 (3): 104. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
^ O'Connell, Sharon (March 5, 2008). "The Kills – Midnight Boom". Uncut. Archived from the original on May 19, 2011. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
^ "Midnight Boom - The Kills | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved February 6, 2014.

[Gigwise_title-1] Colothan, Scott (December 19, 2007). "The Kills Explain 'Midnight Boom' Album Title". Gigwise. Retrieved February 1, 2014.

[U.R.A._Fever-2] "U.R.A. Fever - Single by The Kills". iTunes (GB). December 3, 2007. Retrieved February 1, 2014.

[Cheap_and_Cheerful-3] "Cheap and Cheerful - Single by The Kills". iTunes (GB). February 25, 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2014.

[Last_Day_of_Magic-4] "Last Day of Magic - EP by The Kills". iTunes (GB). June 15, 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2014.

[iTunes-5] "Tape Song - Single by The Kills". iTunes (GB). November 16, 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2014.

[Black_Balloon-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.

[US200-9] "The Kills Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 1, 2014.

[USIndie-10] "The Kills Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 1, 2014.

[USTaste-11] "The Kills Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 1, 2014.

[USHeat-12] "The Kills Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 1, 2014.

[UK-13] "Kills | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved February 1, 2014.

[AUT-14] "Austriancharts.at – The Kills – Midnight Boom" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2014.

[FL-15] "Ultratop.be – The Kills – Midnight Boom" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2014.

[WA-16] "Ultratop.be – The Kills – Midnight Boom" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2014.

[FRA-17] "Lescharts.com – The Kills – Midnight Boom". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2014.

[NLD-18] "Dutchcharts.nl – The Kills – Midnight Boom" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2014.

[SWI-19] "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.

[Metacritic-21] "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.

[credits_allmusic-32] "Midnight Boom - The Kills | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved February 6, 2014.

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v t e The Kills
VV Hotel
Studio albums	Keep on Your Mean Side No Wow Midnight Boom Blood Pressures Ash & Ice God Games
EPs	Black Rooster EP
Singles	"Fried My Little Brains" "Tape Song" "Black Balloon" "Willow Weep for Me" "Future Starts Slow"
Related	Discography The Dead Weather Discount Scarfo Blyth Power

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