The Kills; Arab Strap

April 12

A A A Comments (0) By Mikael Wood Thursday, Apr 10 2003

You know what they say about April showers: They bring dour indie-rock duos from the U.K. to the Dallas-Fort Worth area for intimate shows at crowded nightclubs. Arab Strap, perhaps the U.K.'s premier dour indie-rock duo, turn up opening for Bright Eyes on Wednesday night at Trees, and while that Bright Eyes moppet seems like he's been through some serious shit--hundred-dollar haircuts, say, or a broken tour-bus air conditioner--it's doubtful he's got anything on Scotsmen Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton. Their new album, Monday at the Hug & Pint, is more of the wildly moody, heavily accented folk-disco they've been making for years, complete with a killer bagpipe solo and a tune called "Act of War" that doesn't offer a single intelligible lyric outside of the title. (Just kidding about Mr. Bright Eyes, in case you were getting ready to IM me--his latest was on at Urban Outfitters the other day, and it made picking out a new pair of Diesels so much easier. Sorry, that's the last one!)

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The Kills perform April 12 at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios, with the Faceless Werewolves. Arab Strap performs April 16 at Trees, with Bright Eyes and Her Space Holiday.

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At Rubber Gloves on Saturday the Kills appear in support of Keep on Your Mean Side, their lacerating Rough Trade debut that imagines the White Stripes as a pair of London cokeheads with leftover Jesus and Mary Chain fixations. At a show last week in New York, the duo--singer VV and guitarist Hotel--tried a little hard to convince the roomful of hipsters of their bad-ass blues-punk legitimacy, but there's something about their minimalist menace that transcends rote neo-garage scenesterism. Can't wait till May!