‘Ash & Ice’ represents the end of a long wait. It’s been half a decade since the Kills released ‘Blood Pressures’, with album five drawing a line under a period in which Jamie Hince underwent six surgeries on his injured hand, forcing him to learn how to play guitar all over again, and Alison Mosshart moved to Nashville while finding time to put out a third record with the Dead Weather.
The continued development of the duo, both creatively and as performers, is clear throughout. Mosshart allows us a more intimate insight into her psyche, plotting a course through the rough waters between love and its associated torments. “I want strings attached, as unnatural as it feels,” she sings on Heart Of A Dog. “I get lost, but I always come around. It’s a strange fear, allows me to be found.”
Hince has made more practical adjustments. He adapted his guitar rig, accommodating Bigsbys to help create the vibrato his fingers are no longer able to create on their own, and built a studio in which to experiment. Doing It To Death proves from the off that he has regained top form. As is typical of the Kills there are basic, but considered and well executed, riffs paired with pounding drums courtesy of both man and machine.
Those who didn’t get on board with the new direction taken by ‘Blood Pressures’ will happily welcome Hard Habit To Break into the band’s repertoire as its beats and breaks are decidedly reminiscent of Sour Cherry from 2008’s ‘Midnight Boom’. The same is true of the album closer, Whirling Eye, and Bitter Fruit, which sees Mosshart touching on the idea of relevance: “I am the seed of a dead age.”
In their early years, the Kills were able to make a big impression with minimalist melodies and Mosshart’s commanding, yet understated, vocals. But with each release they’ve continued to evolve, filling the audible gaps they once left vacant. ‘Blood Pressures’ might now be seen as the culmination of that journey, with ‘Ash & Ice’ finding them armed with the benefit of hindsight and drawing on tried and tested sounds. They bring together the strengths of their back catalogue, resulting in a record that resembles something more powerful than its constituent parts.
The Kills Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Thu September 29 2016 - MANCHESTER Albert Hall
Fri September 30 2016 - GLASGOW O2 ABC
Sat October 01 2016 - LEEDS Beckett University Union
Sun October 02 2016 - NOTTINGHAM Rock City
Tue October 04 2016 - OXFORD O2 Academy Oxford
Wed October 05 2016 - BRISTOL Anson Rooms
Thu October 06 2016 - BIRMINGHAM O2 Institute
Fri October 07 2016 - LONDON Roundhouse
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