Esteemed garage rock duo the Kills haven't released a full-length studio album since 2011's Blood Pressures, but that's about to change. The half-British, half-American two-piece are set to return with a new album titled Ash & Ice on June 3 through Domino Records.
The new album arrives after a five-year process that saw guitarist Jamie Hince recovering from five hand surgeries and completely relearning his instrument. The full-length was recorded between a house in Los Angeles and Electric Lady Studios in New York, as opposed to the duo's usual Benton Harbor, MI locale. Hince produced the record, with John O'Mahony (Metric, the Cribs) getting a co-credit.
The songs are the result of Hince taking a trip on the Trans-Siberian Express to creatively recalibrate, while his bandmate Alison Mosshart crafted a collection of "poetically candid" lyrics from her new home of Nashville. A press release describes the new songs as "more understated, less tempestuous and more affecting because of that, exposing the kind of push-pull you feel when you find yourself in a complicated but all-consuming relationship."
An introduction to the new material arrives in the form of a new video for lead single "Doing It to Death," which was directed by Wendy Morgan and shot in Los Angeles. Scroll past the Ash & Ice tracklisting and the band's extensive list of upcoming tour dates (including upcoming stops in Toronto and Vancouver) to give it a watch.
Ash & Ice:
1. Doing It To Death
2. Heart Of A Dog
3. Hard Habit To Break
4. Bitter Fruit
5. Days Of Why And How
6. Let It Drop
7. Hum For Your Buzz
8. Siberian Nights
9. That Love
10. Impossible Tracks
11. Black Tar
12. Echo Home
13. Whirling Eye
Tour dates:
03/16 Mexico City, Mexico - House of Vans 50th Anniversary
03/17 Austin, TX - StubHub & Culture Collide Showcase
03/18 Austin, TX - Spotify House
04/07 Nashville, TN - Exit/In
04/08 Louisville, KY - Headliner's Music Hall
04/09 Columbus, OH - CD 102.5 Day
04/11 Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer
04/12-13 Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw
04/15 Indio, CA – Coachella
04/18 Los Angeles, CA - Mayan Theatre
04/19 Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory
04/22 Indio, CA - Coachella
05/01 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg
05/03 Paris, France - La Cigale
05/04 London, England - Village Underground
05/13 Atlanta, GA - Shaky Knees Festival
05/14 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club *
05/15 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club *
05/17 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg *
05/19 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club *
05/20 Montreal, QC - L'Esco *
05/21 Toronto, ON - Danforth Music Hall *
05/22 Detroit, MI - St Andrew's Hall *
05/23 Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre *
05/25 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue *
05/26 Kansas City, KS - Midland Theatre *
05/27 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre *
05/28 Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot *
05/31 Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom *
06/01 Seattle, WA - Showbox SoDo *
06/02 Portland, OR - Roseland Theater *
06/04 San Francisco, CA - Fox Theater
06/09-12 Newport, England - Isle of Wight Festival
* with L.A. Witch
The new album arrives after a five-year process that saw guitarist Jamie Hince recovering from five hand surgeries and completely relearning his instrument. The full-length was recorded between a house in Los Angeles and Electric Lady Studios in New York, as opposed to the duo's usual Benton Harbor, MI locale. Hince produced the record, with John O'Mahony (Metric, the Cribs) getting a co-credit.
The songs are the result of Hince taking a trip on the Trans-Siberian Express to creatively recalibrate, while his bandmate Alison Mosshart crafted a collection of "poetically candid" lyrics from her new home of Nashville. A press release describes the new songs as "more understated, less tempestuous and more affecting because of that, exposing the kind of push-pull you feel when you find yourself in a complicated but all-consuming relationship."
An introduction to the new material arrives in the form of a new video for lead single "Doing It to Death," which was directed by Wendy Morgan and shot in Los Angeles. Scroll past the Ash & Ice tracklisting and the band's extensive list of upcoming tour dates (including upcoming stops in Toronto and Vancouver) to give it a watch.
Ash & Ice:
1. Doing It To Death
2. Heart Of A Dog
3. Hard Habit To Break
4. Bitter Fruit
5. Days Of Why And How
6. Let It Drop
7. Hum For Your Buzz
8. Siberian Nights
9. That Love
10. Impossible Tracks
11. Black Tar
12. Echo Home
13. Whirling Eye
Tour dates:
03/16 Mexico City, Mexico - House of Vans 50th Anniversary
03/17 Austin, TX - StubHub & Culture Collide Showcase
03/18 Austin, TX - Spotify House
04/07 Nashville, TN - Exit/In
04/08 Louisville, KY - Headliner's Music Hall
04/09 Columbus, OH - CD 102.5 Day
04/11 Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer
04/12-13 Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw
04/15 Indio, CA – Coachella
04/18 Los Angeles, CA - Mayan Theatre
04/19 Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory
04/22 Indio, CA - Coachella
05/01 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg
05/03 Paris, France - La Cigale
05/04 London, England - Village Underground
05/13 Atlanta, GA - Shaky Knees Festival
05/14 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club *
05/15 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club *
05/17 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg *
05/19 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club *
05/20 Montreal, QC - L'Esco *
05/21 Toronto, ON - Danforth Music Hall *
05/22 Detroit, MI - St Andrew's Hall *
05/23 Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre *
05/25 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue *
05/26 Kansas City, KS - Midland Theatre *
05/27 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre *
05/28 Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot *
05/31 Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom *
06/01 Seattle, WA - Showbox SoDo *
06/02 Portland, OR - Roseland Theater *
06/04 San Francisco, CA - Fox Theater
06/09-12 Newport, England - Isle of Wight Festival
* with L.A. Witch