Music
Press
4 STARS out of 5
This Perth band's excellent independent album slipped under the radar late last year but shouldn't have. Like the Drones, The Kill Devil Hills have drunk in classic country-rock forms learned from Dylan, the Band and Tom Waits and transmuted them through a distinctly Ausralian Imagination. The world conjured in The Drought is sun-parched and dark, rollicking and mournful. - The Sydney Morning Herald
Opening with a long dense wall of sound punctuated by violin, all sorts of noises and wonderfully dark lyrics, The Drought leaves you fixated. It's compelling from start to end. From the string-laden "Did I Damage You" and the righteous revenge in the tempo of "Nasty Business", the strings, guitars,and harmonica take you through a windswept landscape of brooding depression, tragic obsession,and black-hearted wickedness - the balladry of "Boneyard Rider" would not seem out of place on soundtracks to 'Deadwood' or 'The Proposition'. You may wonder how this fits into the scheme of Australian country music - a genre codified by its song structures and subject matter- but that is the beauty and magic of The Drought. The songs are believable; brooding tales told by a lone, dark strung note and a vision of hope with an uplifting pick on the banjo. The Kill Devil Hills second album has carved their name into the dry, hard mud of Australian music and there it will stay. - Mess and Noise
Discography
"Heathen Songs" LP 2004 (Torn&Frayed/Shock)
"The Drought" LP 2006 (Torn&Frayed/Shock)
"Heathen Songs" Limited Editon Vinyl 2006 (Bang! Records Spain)
"Heathen Songs" Limited Edition Import CD 2006 (Bang! records Spain)
Photos
Bio
Formed as an acoustic, country-tinged 3-piece, Perth-based The KILL DEVIL HILLS have slowly swelled ranks to become a rambling 6-piece outfit, their sometimes rickety, sometimes dirty, frequently swampy and always intense take on country, folk, gospel blues and rock hearkening like some bawdy old Irish reel bashed out on a rusty banjo by a half-cut lumberjack, high on the music of moonshine.Employing a wide range of instruments, the band centres around steel and acoustic guitars, strong percussion, violin, mandolin,banjo, harmonica and soaring 3 and 4 part vocal harmonies.
After releasing their debut album Heathen Songs nationally in Febuary 2005, The Kill Devil Hills were nominated for 6 Wami (Western Australian music industry) Awards, and took home 2. Triple J picked up the album and loved it with The Kill Devil Hills receiving a lot of airplay on a variety of shows and then choosing The Kill Devil Hills as one of their Fresh Crop Artists of 2005. The Hills were handpicked to perform at The WA Blues and Roots Festival 2005, were a favourite attraction at The Bridgetown Blues Festival 2005, played on stages with the likes of The Black Keys, Mountain Goats, The Pretenders, The Living End, Paul Kelly, Dallas Crane, Kim Salmon, Jebediah, The Panics, The Drones and many others. They took in a tour of the east coast in May 2005, winning peoples hearts all over the country, and were invited back to Sydney for shows in November 2005.
The early half of 2006 saw the gents being nominated for another 4 Wami's- taking home again another 2, they graced the local stage at The Big Day Out, recorded a live set for Triple J's 'Home and Hosed on the Porch' and played with such legends as the Beast of Bourbon and The Dirty Three and all the while working tirelessly on the new album 'The Drought'. October 2006 saw the release and 'sold out' launch of Drought ( through Torn & Frayed/Shock) and 3 week National tour that followed with more sold out shows along the way. At the same time, over the other side of the world, Bang! Records in Spain were busy releasing the limited edition vinyl and cd versions of the debut 'Heathen Songs' with brand new artwork and all individually numbered.
The strength of the Kill Devil Hills live shows is proven time and time again, with sell out shows every time they tour the east coast (and of course in the west). They are becoming a force to be reckoned with.
February 2007 saw The KillDevil Hills take out The Best Blues N Roots WAMi for the third year in a row.
Now, they are preparing to take on the world! With tours of the US and Canada in June and European onslaught planned for 2008.
Contact-
Jodie Regan 0419 219 011
e-mail: management@thekilldevilhills.com
www.thekilldevilhills.com
www.myspace.com/thekilldevilhills
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