Localized Music: Kill Hannah, Wake Up The Sleepers
Upon first listen, it's easy to regard Kill Hannah's Wake Up The Sleepers as more of the same dire adolescent anthems—"Acid Rain," "Escape Artistry"—that are the specialty of frontman Mat Devine. But subsequent listens reveal the group's newfound ambition that extends beyond the token tragic tracks. The long-running local outfit has expanded beyond its time-tested methods to include increasingly personal songwriting ("Promise Me") and an array of vocal contributors.
The tentpole example is "Tokyo (Dance In The Dust)," which uses the Chicago Children's Choir for background vocals in the chorus. Elsewhere, the group employs guests like The Birthday Massacre vocalist Chibi on the harder, pulsing "Mouth To Mouth," one of Sleepers' many electro-tinged excursions, as well as The Dresden Dolls' Amanda Palmer on the more somber "Living In Misery." The track is one of a handful that finds Devine turning his attention inward for some of his most intimate lyrics, as he does in the synth-heavy "Why I Have My Grandma's Sad Eyes," where the singer breaks down without the protection of the group's usually blazing guitars.
Even with these new flourishes, Kill Hannah stills plays to its strengths, occasionally at the expense of some tracks sounding overly familiar. In a catalog full of dreamy love songs, the atmospheric, achingly earnest "Snowblinded" is among the group's most mixtape-ready. Similarly, the urgent "Strobe Lights" is one of the most effectively overblown of the band's many calls to action, thanks in no small part to a surprisingly hyper-charged and freewheeling riff courtesy of Powerspace's Tom Schleiter. Balancing the intimate and anthemic, Wake Up The Sleepers is Kill Hannah's most accomplished effort yet. Grade: B+
Kill Hannah plays its hometown record-release show tonight at The Vic. Here's "Radio" at Metro:
