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By JEFF MAKI
Kill Hannah' s previous effort, For Never and Ever, was an album that left a lasting impression on you, thanks to the almost-female sounding vocals by frontman Mat Devine, memorable electronics and a goth rock feel. The band toured the U.S. extensively with HIM and built up a decent following, winning over many HIM fans. Until There's Nothing Left of Us follows much of the same formula, but the novelty seems to have worn off. One thing is for sure: you will know this is Kill Hannah thanks to the trademark vocals. Kill Hannah has always been a pop band, but this time they lean even more to a pop-alternative sound that should further draw in the Hot Topic crowd.
Any hard edge that the band had on For Never and Ever is almost completely absent. After adjusting to the new TRL-type sound, you find that there are some decent songs within the album. The waving synth of the opening track, "Believer," leads into the song's memorable chorus. The lead single, "Lips Like Morphine," is a catchy-as-hell tune, with a techno-beat that could have easily been found on For Never and Ever. The middle portion of the album is rather weak, with a mix of mediocre alt-rock and romantic ballads and doesn't measure up to the previously set standard. It's not until "Crazy Angel" that the album's tempo picks back up. This song is destined to be a single. A cover turns up in The Church's "Under The Milky Way," with beautiful acoustic guitar and Devine's vocals carrying the song. It's not at all different from the original, but it's a great song to begin with and an excellent choice for Kill Hannah to cover. "Songs That Saved My Life" is what the album could have sounded like. There is an epic feel to this song's emotional lyrics and song's driving chorus, both of which are elements that made the band's debut so special.
Kill Hannah is surely on a fast track to alternative rock stardom. The material here is crafted to make hits, get airplay and sell records. The album's production is very clean and polished—maybe too much. The band is also set to tour once again this fall with HIM, playing to sold out shows every night. This is chick-rock. Most guys will probably not admit they like Kill Hannah, while the girls will go head over heels for a sound like this, though it's probably a guilty pleasure for many hardcore death metal fans (yeah, right). Anyway, dudes need these kinds of bands for one reason and one reason alone: To help us get laid! And there's nothing wrong with that.
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