Since the release of their first album Keep on Your Mean Side, The Kills has become a cult band being compared with other duos as The White Stripes but has come to address many more variants of rock as the proto punk bands like Suicide, the garage rock that is mainly perceived in their first two albums, some influence of new and no wave (perhaps almost forced to take when you take advantage of the use of electronic elements path) and the blues.
Always with the help of a programmer percussion despite no longer being the only rhythmic companion it remains one of the main tools of the group. Added to the use of new resources, the accident involving Jamie Hince by which had to undergo various operations to recover the use of the middle finger of his left hand, forcing him to change his technique on guitar and use new complementary accessories It sounds also being produced by himself.
Therefore , and in their search for a new sound this work has achieved some agglomerating way musical and instrumental elements that have been supporting since its formation starting with the use of programmed percussion and not only seems to be a simple accompaniment becoming more complex , playing with touches of electronic bass and also Doing to Death (the first track on the disc), Hard Habit to Break, Let it Drop and Days of Why and how.
Not so this production sounds completely electronic and is one of the things I like about Ash & Ice as I mentioned before is an album that wanders in some way by all musical genres explored by The Kills can get some alternative rock, grunge and garage in pieces like Siberian Nights, Impossible Tracks, Bitter Fruit and Whirling Eyes.
Also we have a different much smoother with songs like That Love, Echo Home and one of my favorite Hum For Your Buzz rescues not only the sound of rhythm & blues classic but also that format that characterized the band at first hand to use the voice accompanied only guitar masterfully played by HENCE in this piece and the dazzling vocal range with its torn Alison Mosshart voice in the chorus "I ... I'm a believer ..." by simply adding a tambourine and some chords with hammond in the final sections of the song.
I will stop to make a reference to the voice of Alison and how it has managed to create phrasings for this record where we can see that perhaps his work with Jack White with The Dead Weather has had some influence or has helped free more with the use of some more bluesy escalations not be as visceral as in this project playing with more vocalizations that accompany some guitar licks without thereby losing the essence of what has always done with the Kills.
As for the letters stroll through the theme of love in its different stages very often despite being a dim view of this becomes repetitive considering it has 13 songs, a fairly long drive.
A mix level Jamie Hince (who was in charge of production with the collaboration of John O'Mahoney) and company had very clear what they wanted to maintain the idea of compiling all the sounds that had influenced to The Kills.
In the case of the electronics must first explain the mix in many musical productions seeking to give a sense of location in space, that is to hear a song we must locate, imaginatively clear, in a room where the band could be playing around us and we can see how some sounds are perceived more distant or in some depth and this was what they accomplished in some way in this long lasting.
We can hear how some programmed sounds happen to be protagonists in the intro of some songs and then move to the bottom of this "room" in which we have located giving prominence to the guitars and the voice of Mosshart without losing its presence seeking a similar sound perhaps to bands like Suicide, the Kills who has been named as influential in his music.
Of note is the amazing job with guitars, overdrives used by Hince range from the electronic almost robotic to the simplest sounds like Hum For Your Buzz is accompanied by a drive maybe achieved by modifying the values of the amplifier as well as a simple accompaniment enough reverb to fill this "room" in which I place.
Percussions scheduled although most are quite strong (in some songs substituted by electronic beats) like low that have a greater role as companions and with enough presence to avoid getting lost in the compendium of sounds.
Production generally must applaud the use of details like the almost imperceptible feedback that remains a bit after the intro to guitar input "Hard Habit To Break" or the simple touch of chords hammond in Hum For Your Buzz likewise the fact that despite being the guitar the main instrument of Hince is not the absolute protagonist and is used in the right amount as in Days of how and Why or that Love, which is in perfect company the piano.
Overall Ash & Ice is a very interesting album that hardly musically can become bored by this range of sounds and influences from different genres with incredibly sincere technical work that seeks to keep the sounds of post punk, new wave and garage rock that explores the band ears giving a similar experience to that offered us bands like the Talking Heads and the White Stripes who were not afraid to experiment without necessarily losing the essence of what they did.
