Album Review: Kill Hannah - 'Until Theres Nothing Left Of Us'

1 August 2008 | 5:05 pm | Staff Writer
Originally Appeared In

Ruining modern music, one song at a time…

My wife is incredibly open-minded

and non-judgmental when it comes to music, yet even she said (and I’m

quoting here), “Wow, this band is really terrible”. Yes, that’s

right, Kill Hannah’s melodramatic hybrid of pop, rock and whatever

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else they were listening to at the time is that bad that even my better

half doesn’t back it.  


Imagine if you would, a cheesier

and less talented version of 30 Seconds To Mars (a version that

appears to wear more make up) and you’re getting close to the Kill

Hannah sound and aesthetic. The press release that accompanies this

record has quotes from both Billy Corgan and Mikey Way

singing the band’s praises, but I’d be genuinely shocked if KH ever reached the same level of popularity as either the Smashing

Pumpkins or My Chemical Romance


After the sluggish introduction

of “Sleep Tonight” you’re given the clearly eighties influenced

“Believer”, a song that features some effect-soaked guitar work

and a driving rhythm section, however the entire thing is thrown off

by the band’s vocalist Mat Devine, his “is it a guy or it s a girl”

singing style doing nothing for the overall Kill Hannah sound. I have

to question whether or not the guys in KH actually write their

own songs, as the lyrics to “Lips Like Morphine” look like excerpts

from a thirteen year olds diary, not that of someone who’s probably

able attend an over twenty-eights bar.  


“Boys And Girls” sounds like

it could be playing over the top of a Breakfast Club montage (yep, another

eighties reference), while “The Song That Saved Me Life” continues

in a similar fashion, with the band’s helium induced vocals clashing

with crunching guitars. By the time “Crazy Angel” rolls around it’s

becoming more and more apparent that Kill Hannah are a one trick

pony, as many of the songs on Until There’s Nothing Left Of Us

uses the same song writing formula: Almost every track has an electronic

introduction, a series of quiet verses and finally a made for radio

chorus.  


It isn’t until the slightly

more dynamic “Black Poison Blood” kicks in that I realize the last

few songs have flown by without me even noticing, another indication

that Kill Hannah have an over reliance on their on one particular

song writing template. The last four songs on the record have a more

dynamic edge compared to the earlier showings the band have put forward,

so maybe KH’s next record may have a little more substance.


For all the record company driven

hype there isn’t anything overly impressive about this release, and

for the record, bragging about a band’s high number of MySpace friends

looks desperate. Better luck next time.


  1. Sleep Tight
  2. Believer
  3. Lips Like Morphine
  4. Boys Like Girls
  5. The Songs That Saved

    My Life

  6. Crazy Angel
  7. 10 More Minutes With

    You

  8. The Collapse