Music

The Kills talk Dead Weather, sexual exploitation and having no plans

by Anne T. Donahue

In an industry hungry for drama, controversy and website hits, the media’s lust for gossip fodder is a tactic The Kills have tired of. But considering the band’s sustained for over a decade, the duo sees journalistic pettiness or unwarranted scrutiny barely a factor in their unfolding legacy – especially when such tactics are used when comparing their own music and that of The Dead Weather.

“[Comparisons have been] nothing really quite valid because the Dead Weather was such a short, two-records-in-two-minutes [project] and this real crazy rock band,” claims singer Alison Mosshart. “It’s such a different band in every way that we work. I don’t think they come close enough together to make too much of a difference. I just think people are bored and they don’t know what to write. I don’t know. I never know how to answer those questions because there’s not really [an answer]. People love [drama], and there really isn’t any. I’m sorry to be so boring.”

Of course, to Mosshart and Hince fans, “boring” is the last word they’d use to describe the beloved two-piece. And considering The Kills have honed a career based on assertiveness and independence, their decision to maintain total control over their sound, art and image arguably adds to their mystique.

“It’s just a testament to meaning what we’re doing and loving what we’re doing,” Mosshart explains. “And wanting to do it forever. We’re in it because we have to do this – when we wake up, we know we have to do it. It’s not really a choice. So I think you maybe you go about your business in a different way if that’s the case. You’re much more protective, it’s like a survival mechanism or something.”

“It doesn’t seem like a tough thing, either,” agrees Hince. “It’s not like you have to put any effort into [creative control] specifically – it’s not like you’re taking on so much. It’s natural to do, to be responsible completely. Every bit of artwork comes from our hands. It works in your favour.

“Like after four records,” he continues. “Without saying, ‘we do what we want! We’re in control!’, that’s what people’s impressions have been because we’ve been doing it so much. Because it comes out in the music and it comes out in the artwork and it comes out with everything we do.”

In terms of their image, The Kills noticeably reject over-romanticizing the concept of a “boy-girl dynamic”. Yet while they’re not willing to conform to gender stereotypes or to use sexuality to pander to press, they don’t deny that their rotating vocals add a unique edge to their musical identity.

“I just think of us as a two-piece band or as a whole band,” Mosshart affirms. “I do think something quite magical happens when you have a boy and a girl in an artistic situation and you can see things from two sides. And it’s good – it’s informative to each other. Something great happens.”

“There’s not much exploitation going on [with us],” agrees Hince. “I always think that when there’s a pretty girl in a band, [they] gradually warm into being objectified and doing all these kind of [revealing] shoots. And I don’t know – it’s always the artists like Patti Smith and girls that didn’t push their sexuality that makes it really different thing. Alison’s just a rock singer – an amazing rock singer. There’s no exploiting sexuality.”

As for what’s next? Your guess is as good as theirs.

“We’ve never really had a manifesto to do anything,” reveals Hince. “I think it’s kind of stupid to have a manifesto because the world is like a hurricane right now and it’s changing all the time. Who would’ve thought when we stared in 2002 that the Internet would be responsible for everybody’s socializing [and] everybody’s business? So I think it’s important to ride the hurricane and take each day as it comes, so we have no plans.”