review from Kludge Magazine
“They may have a sexually ambiguous nature - like me - But unlike me, they are the future of Chicago rock,” says ex-Smashing Pumpkins lead singer Billy Corgan. While this is coming from one of rock’s super heroes, you can infer this just by looking at a picture of, Kill Hannah, the ever-growing Chicago rock band that currently is spreading like wildfire thanks to their smash hit single “Kennedy.” The band, black clad with even darker eyeliner, look as if they have just come from a funeral. Their music can only be described as a collision between the Smashing Pumpkins, Garbage, and the Cure, while lead singer Mat Devine’s high pitched voice is very reminiscent of Perry Farrell. However, don’t be mistaken as the band possesses a very unique sound with a lot of raw emotion and passion, as Devine says, “conceptually we are indie...philosophically we are indie.” The band was started by Devine, a lonely college freshman in the rural farm town that held Illinois State University. Yet, it was at this time that he also met a 16-year-old local girl named Hannah. While Hannah eventually broke off the relationship, she had a very strong impact on the heart broken Devine, who went on to appropriately name his band Kill Hannah. While Devine’s revenge fantasy was limited to a song, it was responsible for getting the band off and rolling as he would eventually move to Chicago and hand craft a band that can share his ideas. And with this, the Chicago quintet is gaining a solid following and being called “the cutest band in Chicago” by the Chicago Sun Times. Here they are, looking as if they’ve been in the game for 20 years. Already consistently selling out shows, Kill Hannah are releasing their new album, For Never and Ever. The CD opens up with, “They Can’t Save Us Now,” a gleaming rock song with an enduring chorus. The listener will immediately be struck with a feeling of nostalgia as the band’s gloomy, dark rock sounds identical to The Smashing Pumpkins. The follow up song, “Kennedy,” is the album’s breakout single which currently is one of the most requested songs on Q101 radio as well as other radio stations across the country. “I want to be a Kennedy, I want to be a big heart breaker and live fast and for real,” begins the song as it moves into a melodic chorus. While the song is the most radio friendly, it is nevertheless the best song on the album. It is easy to relate to track 4, “New Heart in Christmas,” a scene set on Chicago’s historic Navy Pier. Similarly in track 7, “Raining All the Time,” a song that describes the hopelessness of a struggling boyfriend trying to escape the “non-stop rain” that is plaguing his life. “Unwanted” is a solid guitar riff accentuated by a startling optimistic chorus. The CD ends as well as it started with “Is Anyone Here Alive?” and “No One Dreams Anyway,” two of the album’s better produced tracks, as well as the gloomiest. Being one of the few bands afforded the luxury of rather than pursuing record companies, they had record companies come to them. Apparently all those mindless record label execs see a future in these guys and as do I (putting aside all bias of living in Chicago of course), you probably will too! Ready to pick up where The Smashing Pumpkins left off, Kill Hannah are sure to be a success. “Nothing is as entirely exciting or as satisfying as that feeling that you’ve just written a song that works,” Devine says. The music industry needs more people like this and surely enough, it must be done the same way Devine obtained his fans, one person at a time.
