Kill Hannah Albums (3)
What The Critics Say
More than a few lovers of '70s and '80s rock have claimed that much of the fun went out of rock music in the early '90s, observing that a great deal of today's post-Nevermind alternative rock is extremely serious-minded and introspective. Of course, there are countless exceptions to that generalization; no one can accuse No Doubt, Garbage, Powder (a great band from Los Angeles), or Veruca Salt of not being fun. Furthermore, there's no law stating that rock music always has to push the party button -- if Charlie Parker and bebop was when jazz lost much of its sexy frivolity, perhaps rock took an inevitably comparable turn with the grunge/Nirvana/Pearl Jam upheaval of the early '90s. Nonetheless, there's still some room for glamorous, hedonistic, escapist pleasure in the rock world -- and Kill Hannah certainly brings a healthy dose of glam to alternative pop/rock on For Never & Ever, which is their first album for Atlantic after recording independently in the past. This 2003 release is simultaneously cute and dark, and one track that brilliantly epitomizes Kill Hannah's blend of frivolity and subversion is "Kennedy." The tune doesn't describe Ted Kennedy's family to make a political statement; rather, Kill Hannah describes the Kennedys as glamorous, if tragic, jet setters and uses them to echo (in an ironic, tongue-in-cheek fashion) rock's live fast/die young clichés. "Kennedy" is among the CD's many examples of delightfully trashy, decadent fun, which is what Kill Hannah does so well -- and they do it with an attractive sound that could be described as a blend of Garbage, the Smashing Pumpkins, Republica, and My Bloody Valentine. Anyone who complains that rock isn't as much fun as it once was needs to pay close attention to For Never & Ever, which paints a consistently exciting picture of the Chicago-based alterna-rockers. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
'Until There's Nothing Left of Us'
Release Date 1/1/2003
Tracks 12
Label Roadrunner
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
The continual dividing and multiplying of musical subgenres may sometimes seem absurd, but bulky as they are, all those tiny little classifications are still necessary. Kill Hannah's 2006 release Until There's Nothing Left of Us is a good example of why: an album most easily described as indie-shoegaze-electro-post-hardcore-emo-dream pop-rock. The only drawback to describing music this way is that it implies that the record is eclectic, when in fact, Kill Hannah's sound takes the most related elements of these disparate styles and omits the aspects of each that might make their combination sound disjointed. This wide sampling of so many influences finds the band dipping their creative cups into numerous genres with enough depth to integrate them and enough restraint to avoid their clichés: the slickly feminized male vocals sound sassy and adolescent but never breach into emo-catharsis; the distorted vocal harmonies call to mind My Bloody Valentine but never become lost in their own ambience; and the unabashedly heavy production transforms the buzzing of guitars into some kind of growling synthesizer without ever succumbing to vapid goth pop à la My Chemical Romance. When given a choice, Kill Hannah pick accessibility over high art on this record, but those looking for a substantial and sophisticated successor to Fugazi, the Cure or Jesus and Mary Chain should find what they're looking for here. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Music Guide
