MEDIA REVIEWS
to fall entirely under any such generalizations. And the songs of Smoke Ring for My
Halo (co-produced with Sonic Youth and
Dinosaur Jr. producer John Agnello) have
a way of rewarding you—and sinking their
hooks into you—like unexpected wisdom
from a stranger at a bar.
The characters in Vile’s oblique lyrics
often seem brokenhearted, obsessed, alone,
and making do with little more than a
black sense of humor on their side. (Those
who have likened Vile to a subterranean
Springsteen may be onto something here.)
And in a beautiful display of how true
bands, arrangers, and songwriters work,
Vile, his band the Violators, and a host of
guests shape stark-but-vivid worlds for Vile’s
suburban-noir protagonists with beguiling,
high-lonesome textures.
Vile and guitarists Jesse Trbovich and
Adam Granduciel, forego 6-string histrionics in favor of deftly fingerpicked acoustic
melodies, echo-laden outer-space transmissions, and locomotive rhythms that leave
the songs spacious and wide open for the
wandering, complex, and daydreaming
characters in the tunes. The expansive
arrangements also leave space for the lovely
and super-evocative colors and atmospheres
contributed by harpist Mary Lattimore (
“On Tour” and “Ghost Town”), Espers’
Meg Baird (backing vocals on “Baby’s
Arms”) and Blues Control’s ace multi-instrumentalist Lea Cho.
Sedate, but overflowing with moods, sweet
and melancholic melodies, and engaging
lyrical narratives, Smoke Ring for My Halo,
is a tough and tender gem of an LP and an
engaging evolution for one of the pop underground’s finest songwriters. —Charles Saufley
ALBUM
The Kills
Blood Pressures
Domino
If there is a band
that can present a
better example of
the non-necessity of a drummer and bassist,
they haven’t shown themselves yet. The Kills
continue to please with their brand of thickly
layered, fuzz-laden, lo-fi blues-punk on their
new record Blood Pressures.
The Kills were born from a chance
meeting in 2000 when Jamie Hince and
34 PREMIER GUITAR MAY 2011
Allison Mosshart were each playing in
their respective punk outfits (Hince with
Scarfo and Mosshart with Discount). They
then struck up a trans-Atlantic friendship
by sending tapes and ideas back and forth
between Florida and London. Hince and
Mosshart (aka Hotel and VV) released a
demo in 2001, shortly following Mosshart’s
trip over the water so they could collaborate at a faster pace than airmail.
Some 11 years later—and after
Mosshart’s collaboration and tour with
Jack White and Dead Weather—Blood
Pressures is the Kills’ fourth album, and
probably they’re most accessible to date.
Hince’s minimalistic but devilish gui-
tar licks thread the overdriven samples
together throughout, from the in-your-
face fuzz-dub jam and dark chords in
“Satellite” to the driven and jumpy beat
of “Nail in My Coffin.” And he shares
his hauntingly Lennon-esque vocals while
crooning the dark and psychedelic coun-
try/pop “Wild Charms.”
All said, it’s Mosshart’s narcotic vox that
really seals the deal for the Kills’ trademark
“we got you now, stay with us” infectious
melodies. Often compared to Patti Smith,
Mosshart moves from track to track, going
from subdued blues beast on “Damned If She
Do” to darkly desperate and soft on “Baby
Says,” singing the chorus in unison with
Hince’s delay- and chorus-rich riffs.
From the tribal beat starting point of
the first track “Future Starts Slow” through
the deep and nasty blues finality of “Pots
and Pans,” where Mosshart belts out “ain’t
a drop left in my tank, to move move
move your dead weight,” the Kills’ Blood
Pressures will take yours from high to low
and back again, and then sideways. Make
no mistake—sans drummer and bassist,
and sample rich—this is fine and dirty
guitar-rock. —Rich Osweiler
BOOK
Rockin’ Your Stage Sound:
A Musician’s Guide to
Professional Live Audio
By Rob Gainey
Hal Leonard
If the sound engineer and every person
in the band all want the band to sound
as good as possible, why is it so hard to
actually make
that happen? In
most cases, not
everyone is on
the same page
in terms of
training, meth-
odology, and
personal prefer-
ences. Good
luck aligning
those planets. It is possible, however, for
everyone to have a better understanding of
the variables involved—the various capa-
bilities of the equipment being used, the
best practices for signal routing, proven
approaches for mixing different kinds of
setups in different situations, etc.—and
that’s what this book is about.
premierguitar.com
