The Kills are an English-American rock duo formed by American singer Alison "VV" Mosshart and English guitarist Jamie "Hotel" Hince. They are signed to Domino Records. Their first four albums, Keep On Your Mean Side, No Wow, Midnight Boom, and Blood Pressures, all reached the UK album chart. Their fifth and most recent studio album, Ash & Ice, was released in 2016 and reached the UK Top 20 album chart. Career Discount Mosshart and Hince both played in other bands before they formed The Kills in 2001. Mosshart was previously the vocalist of punk rock band Discount, while Hince featured in rock bands such as Scarfo and Blyth Power. Mosshart encountered Hince when her band was touring England, where Hince was "staying in the flat upstairs from where [she] was staying" in London. Mosshart insisted on forming a band with Hince and "really persisted, and eventually we started writing and he encouraged me". Hince supplied her with a four-track tape recorder and insisted she write music as well as lyrics while on tour with her band. The two continued to exchange music ideas by sending each other tapes. Discount disbanded in 2000, and Mosshart moved to London in the same year. Before settling on a name, Mosshart and Hince performed as "VV" and "Hotel", respectively, Hince explaining that they "named each other off the top of our heads as a stupid romantic ode to the pop art scene". The duo opted for The Kills as it "sounded like a band that could exist in any decade". Signing to Domino Using the ideas on the tapes, Mosshart and Hince began to write minimalist songs with the aid of a drum machine. In 2001 they showcased their new songs on a demo tape; however, the pair shunned approaches from major record labels. Recording as VV and Hotel, they contributed the song "Restaurant Blouse" to the compilation If the Twenty-First Century Did Not Exist, It Would Be Necessary to Invent It. Shortly after this they recorded their debut release, the Black Rooster EP, which saw release on British indie label Domino Records and was picked up for distribution by Dim Mak Records in the United States. Following international touring, they entered Toe Rag Studios, where the White Stripes had recorded their album Elephant, to record their debut album Keep on Your Mean Side, mostly on 8-track, in just 2 weeks. Distributed in the