Michael Des Barres Kiss Or Kill Me

Michael Des Barres unleashes a seductive proposition of grandeur with ‘Kiss or Kill Me’
Rock and roll and Hollywood provocateur offers a potent new 7-inch single of dramatic glam excess on Rum Bar Records
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"“Kiss or Kill Me” is a glam filled garage and punk rock song. It has the groove of the 60’s with some of the venom of the 70’s and 80’s. This is a fun rock and roll song, and if you’re a fan of the music on Little Steven’s Underground Garage or Rum Bar Records, you’re going to love “Kiss or Kill Me.” The song is great, and then the guitar solo comes in and demolishes everything that came before it. It has that slickness you associate with glam with more than a little bit of the chaos that comes with punk." - If It's Too Loud
"How about an absolute scorcher of a new single from the legendary Michael Des Barres? Out on Rum Bar Records, "Kiss or Kill Me" finds the 26th Marquis Des Barres obliterating the notion that we ever become too old to rock. Co-written with guitarist Loren Molinare (The Dogs, Slamdinistas) and co-produced by Richard Duguay (Personality Crisis), this song is a shot of pure glam/punk/rock 'n' roll energy delivering a truly provocative proposition. And man oh man, this song sure does bring love to life." - Lord Rutledge
"Kiss Or Kill Me is one heck of an introduction to this artist." - WoNo Blog
"Joined by Paul Ill on bass and Rob Klonel on drums, Des Barres and Molinare kick up a swaggering, hard-rocking racket with a hook that cannot be denied. It's one thing to hear bands pay homage to the heyday of glam rock and proto-punk. But to hear guys who were there when it was originally happening still sound this enthused and inspired in 2026 is quite the thrill. While most people may now think of Des Barres as an actor and radio personality, he has never stopped writing and releasing music. And with "Kiss or Kill Me," he has a massive indie radio hit on his hands. The B-side of this single, "I Was Saved In '64," is something quite extraordinary. It's a spoken word number in which Des Barres tells his rock 'n' roll origin story while Molinare and Duguay accompany him on guitar. It's an exhilarating piece of poetry, and of course no one is better suited than Des Barres to turn a spoken word track into a captivating performance." - Faster And Louder
"Rum Bar's release of Michael Des Barres is getting attention. The video for the new single “Kiss or Kill Me” has a simple set up that effectively transmits the Des Barres attitude. In the video is Des Barres and Loren Molinare (from the Slamdanistas and the co-writer of the song). They wanted the song “to have the urgency of ’70s street rock.” Case closed on that." - Boston Groupie News
"Against a hard edged riff blending the melodic end of garage rock with a pleasingly trashy late 70s edge, the vocalist throws out huge, natural notes that are a near perfect fit with the music in hand. The recording is solid sounding, but not too glossy; nor it is it lo-fi or in any way rough, fitting quite nicely with Michael’s previous work with The Mistakes, and against a very retro sounding hard rock riff, he curls a voice that, at this point, is immediately familiar." - Real Gone
"Michael freakin’ Des Barres (AKA Michael Des Barres) comes correct on Rum Bar Records (!!) with a new double single release featuring “Kiss or Kill Me Tonight” and “I Was Saved In ’64”. ANYWAY! The tracks are BANGERS and each modern Garage Rawk anthems from the master so do stay tuned!" - Rock and Roll Fables
"Rum Bar Records has scooped up Michael Des Barres. Rum Bar has lots of notable acts but no one as high profile as Des Barres. Glam rock fans love his 70s groups Silverhead and Detective which both had two albums each. Later he was in Chequered Past and Power Station. He also has been in many TV shows and a few movies." - Paul Blowfish
LOS ANGELES, Ca. [February 13, 2026] – There’s a thin line between pleasure and pain, and what you give – as well what you get – is all fair in the never-ending game of rock and roll. It’s the consequences of our actions that lead to our fate, and the soundtrack to this personal drama has suddenly never sounded so good. Like a jolt of lightning to the soul and an electric shock to our bodies, Michael Des Barres unleashes potent new single “Kiss or Kill Me” to the streams and on compact disc on Friday, February 13 on Rum Bar Records. The 7-inch vinyl will quickly follow in March, and a colorful and lively official music video brings this lethal rock banger to cinematic heights.
Of course, it’s no coincidence that this dramatic romp of grandeur, excess, and swagger, backed with an inviting spoken word composition and rock and roll awakening homage “I Was Saved in ‘64,” arrives on the eve of Valentine’s Day. “It’s now or never,” says Des Barres, the glam rock provocateur who has always played by his own rules. “Really the song is an anthem of love, love me or leave me. You either bring love to life, or you’re not living.”
The 26th Marquis Des Barres has been surveying the state of the world for several decades now, balancing a high-wire act of rock and roll aristocracy and Hollywood charisma that has positioned the British-born and Los Angeles-based actor and performer like few in his class. He’s seen it all; and has lived to tell the sordid tale. “All great music is politicized one way or another,” he notes. “You've come to the end of the road. And on that road, 50 percent of the globe is in shock, and the other 50 percent is loving it. It's a politicised vibe on ‘Kiss or Kill Me’, but it's really about romance -- the death of romance.” And now with the formidable “Kiss or Kill Me,” a whirling dervish of aural hedonism, he’s offered perhaps his most intriguing proposition yet. It’s doused in a double shot of rebellion from Bowie, the street-walkin’ swagger of the Stooges, and the slick sonic seduction of T.Rex. “Kiss or Kill Me” is fueled by hyperactive strains of glam, garage rock, and proto-punk, but to Michael Des Barres it’s simply rock and roll. “It’s in my blood,” he warns, “and it always has been.”