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Category: Alt rock
The Kills – Ash & Ice
I’m not sure if there’s a current band that does songs about sex and the dangerous side of love better than The Kills (Jamie Hince and Alison Mosshart). Ash & Ice is certainly about both, and it’s also a hip journey into electro-rock that I didn’t expect.
The album begins with electro beeps on “Doing It to Death,” but Hince’s squawking guitar is close behind. The mix of Hince’s as-always fine guitar work with the electro touches is interesting, as is the reverb on Mosshart’s vocals during the bridge. Synth-percussion then mixes with a traditional drum kit on “Heart of a Dog,” which is a sexy showcase for Mosshart’s bad ass-ness as she sings about coming back yet again to a lover she knows is bad for her. It also has a sultry bass groove throughout it that gets into your bones.
“Hard Habit to Break” isn’t a cover of the sappy Chicago song, but instead a near drum and bass track with Mosshart dressing down her lover as he tries to control her. Ash & Ice is firmly into electro-rock territory by the time we get to “Bitter Fruit” and its programmed beats and synth bass. It’s a wicked groove, and Hince and Mosshart’s co-vocals are outstanding. “Days of Why and How” is minimalist guitar, a drum machine, some bass, and Mosshart singing into what sounds like an old microphone. Don’t worry, it all sounds good.
The opening of “Let It Drop” is so quirky that it almost sounds like the track wandered in from another record until Hince’s guitar walks into the room. “You give me the shakes. You give me the cold sweats,” Mosshart sings, making us swoon. The song could be a pop-dance track with a bit of remixing. “Hum for Your Buzz” has an interesting title and an even more interesting sound. Mosshart’s vocals are clear as Hince’s guitar sounds like he’s playing in the back of a forgotten highway bar. It reminds you that the Kills could (and I wish they would) make a great blues record.
“Siberian Nights” has Mosshart singing, “I could make you come in threes. I’m halfway to my knees. Am I too close for comfort?” No, Ms. Mosshart. The answer to that is a definite “No.” Beware the Psycho shower scene soundtrack-like synths on this, however, for I feel they reveal wickedness behind Ms. Mosshart’s seductive lyrics. She’s just as good on “That Love,” which is a pure torch song.
“Impossible Tracks” sounds like “classic Kills.” The programmed beats are minimized in favor of Hince’s panther-prowl guitar work. “You get what you give. I don’t regret what I did,” Mosshart sings. I don’t know if she’s singing about leaving someone or shagging him (and not feeling guilty about either). “Black Tar” keeps up the guitar-driven sultry rock the Kills do so well. Hince’s guitar on “Echo Home” sounds like it’s from a warped record of a spaghetti western soundtrack, and his vocals mesh well with Mosshart’s. The electro-rock comes back to finish the record with “Whirling Eye,” and it’s a sharp track that sounds like they teamed up with Metric or listened to a lot of krautrock before they recorded it (and how about that psychedelic guitar solo from Hince?).
As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, I didn’t expect so many electro touches from the Kills, but it all works. I suppose the “ash” in the album’s title could refer to the gritty guitar work and tough lyrics, while the “ice” could refer to the cool synth touches and loops featured throughout the record. It could also refer to Mosshart’s love of cigarettes and how both she and Hince like to kick back a few cocktails now and then. Kick this album back with them. It’s smoky and cool.
Keep your mind open.
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Psych-pop outfit Ne-Hi release catchy single from upcoming album due out in February.
NE-HI ANNOUNCE SOPHOMORE RECORD, SHARE TOUR DATES
WATCH VIDEO FOR “STAY YOUNG“; OFFERS OUT 2/24 ON GRAND JURY
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Rewind Review: Bleached – Ride Your Heart (2013)
Ride Your Heart from Bleached (Jennifer Clavin – vocals, guitar, piano, percussion, Jennifer Clavin – guitar, bass, vocals, percussion, lap steel, Dan Allaire – drums) is a great, California sun-soaked pop-punk record about looking for love. The lead track, “Looking for a Fight,” has Jennifer Clavin warning a potential suitor to back off, but the following track, “Next Stop,” is about tearful goodbyes at the train station. Both have excellent guitar work by Jennifer and her sister, Jessica.
“Outta My Mind” has lovely vocals from both Clavins and instrumentation taking the album briefly into psychedelic territory. Jennifer Clavin goes back to wishing love would stay away from her and stop complicating everything, but it’s too good to avoid. However, when we get to “Dead in Your Head,” she roasts her ex for screwing up the great thing they had. She apologizes for her own bad behavior on “Dreaming without You,” in which she sings, “…I won’t hold you back. I know I’m a heart attack. You’ll be fine without me.”
“Waiting by the Telephone” could be their tribute to Blondie’s “Hanging on the Telephone,” because both songs have the same theme – anxiously awaiting the call of a lover. Bleached’s version rocks as much as Blondie’s, by the way. “Love Spells” has Jennifer Clavin first spurning love (“I don’t wanna see you no more. You keep on running back to my door. Told you once, yeah I told you before. Your love spells don’t work anymore.”), then hoping it returns (“Will I see you tonight when I open up my heart?”). It’s a clever song about the confusing nature of love.
“Searching through the Past” is a fine power pop song about missing a lover and hoping for a return to good times. It has great guitar solos by the Clavin sisters as well. The title track is not unlike a Pixies song with quiet verses backed with rock riffs that crank up during the chrous. “Dead Boy” is good, solid fuzz rock that builds to a sweet guitar fade-out. “Guy Like You” is about a guy who keeps breaking Jennifer Clavin’s heart, but she “can’t get enough” of him. It’s a sweet, sad song with lap steel guitar by Jessica Clavin that takes the song to a great, lonely place. The closer, “When I Was Yours,” builds to a wall of psych-fuzz bliss and leaves you hoping the track would go on for another five minutes or more.
The Clavin sisters thank, among others, “ex boyfriends,” in the liner notes to the album. The entire record is about them and the mindboggling nature of love, and it’s a fine salute to both.
Keep your mind open.
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Priests release single, “Pink White House,” from upcoming new album.
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Foxygen release new single, “Follow the Leader,” in time for your post-election blues or euphoria. New album due in January.
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Rewind Review: The Kills – Blood Pressures (2011)
I’m hard pressed to remember an album I’ve recently heard that starts off as well as The Kills’ (Jamie Hince and Alison Mosshart) Blood Pressures.
“Future Starts Slow” is one of their biggest hits, and it’s for good reason. Hince’s guitar is like a haunting alarm and Mosshart’s pleading vocals (“…don’t ever give me up. I could never get back up when the future starts so slow.”) have both rock swagger and blues desperation. “Satellite” is another song pleading for more time to love as the Kills’ phone calls to respective lovers are cut off by bad satellite transmissions beyond their control.
“The Heart Is a Beating Drum” is a reminder to keep passion burning in a relationship. Mosshart sums up a hundred thousand sex life columns as she sings, “And you feel like you been here so many times before. It’s not the door you’re using, but the way you’re walking through it.” Hince’s guitar has this cool low fuzz to it well-suited for late night dalliances. There also this cool percussion that sounds like a sped-up Ping-Pong game throughout it that I love.
For having such sad lyrics (i.e., “I’ve made mistakes I can’t take back home. I love you just not the way you want.”), “Nail in My Coffin” has one of the best grooves and some of the heaviest guitar on the record. “Wild Charms,” with Hince on lead vocals, is a nice introduction to “DNA,” in which Mosshart references them (“True, I had those wild charms for you, but oh how my fire burnt them out.”) as she oozes sexual power and attitude.
“Baby Says” has a slick bass line throughout it and sounds like an early Blondie track. “The Last Goodbye” is a heartbreaking break-up song as Mosshart swears this will be the last time she returns to “half hearted love.” “Damned If She Do” has hints of heavy fuzz rock but the lyrics are pure blues. “You Don’t Own the Road” has Mosshart telling her ex that he doesn’t have a monopoly on loneliness and misery, but she’s willing to make him feel better (“Come on over if that’s the way you feel when you’re lonesome. Steal it back when you’re lonely.”). I love the way her vocals get slightly distorted in the chorus. They match the great crunch of Hince’s guitar work. The closer is “Pots and Pans,” in which Mosshart tells her lover that she’s done caring (“Ain’t enough salt in the ocean that care enough to keep you floating.”), and Hince’s fuzzy acoustic guitar draws a line in the sand.
Blood Pressures is solid rock about heartbreak and passion. Both subjects are easy to make sappy or over the top, but the Kills make it look easy. It’s not, because the road you have to walk to write songs like these isn’t easy. Most can’t handle it. The Kills did.
Keep your mind open.
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Moon Duo’s new album due February 03, 2017.
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The Orwells’ new album is due out February 2017, but you can hear two singles from it now.
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Keep your mind open.
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Live – Beach Slang, Bleached, Hunny – October, 21, 2016 – Cleveland, OH
I was bummed that I missed Riot Fest in Chicago this year, and one of the reasons was that I missed Bleached‘s set there. I discovered Bleached earlier this year DJ’ing for WSND and really enjoyed their new record, Welcome the Worms.
Luckily for me, Bleached were playing in Cleveland at the Grog Shop on the night my wife were there for her birthday road trip. The Grog Shop is a nice venue. My wife described it as one of her favorites of all the places I’ve dragged her to this year. It’s roomy, but not cavernous. Just avoid the Ace pumpkin cider.
First up on the bill were Hunny, a pop-punk outfit from L.A. with a lot of guitars and swagger. They sounded like Green Day if Green Day decided to keep playing mid-size venues instead of writing Broadway musicals.
Bleached played second, and they killed it. A batch of Millennial girls started a tiny mosh pit as soon as Bleached put down the first chord. They opened with “Keep On Keepin’ On” from the new record and tore through other tracks like “Trying to Lose Myself Again” and “Wasted on You” from Welcome the Worms and “Looking for a Fight” and “Outta My Mind” from their first record, Ride Your Heart (review coming soon).
Jessica Clavin had a definite Suzi Gardner / L7 power in her guitar work, and bassist Micayla Grace was on point. Drummer Nick Pilot did a great job, and even swapped his drums for Jennifer Clavin’s guitar (while she took over kit duties) at the end. It was a solid set that won them a lot of new fans.
Last up was Beach Slang, which was only singer / guitarist James Alex that night for reasons unknown. He played a loud, wild set of punk anthems and even invited audience members to join him on stage to play with him. Two people did, picking up a bass guitar and getting behind Bleached’s drum kit for one track – and doing well for being an impromptu rhythm section. Mr. Alex had a lot of fans in the crowd who went wild for his new material.
It was a good night of rock. I hope you were there.
Keep your mind open.
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