Alison Mosshart (44) and Jamie Hince (54) inspire each other with enthusiasm about their sixth album, “God Games”. The US singer and the English guitarist don’t seem at all relaxed, considering the amount of time the two have been making music together. They have been performing as The Kills since 2001. In contrast to other rock bands of their generation, they didn’t use up their creative powder too early, and the gaps between their records were never breathtakingly short. And yet – “God Games” seems like a comeback seven years after “Ash & Ice”. Which of course wasn’t planned. They wanted to release new songs for a long time. But small and large disasters kept coming up, first the corona pandemic, then Hince was confined to a wheelchair for months due to an accident. Finally, an old acquaintance gave them a helping hand.
You recorded “God Games” with producer Paul Epworth. How did that happen?
Jamie Hince: He was the soundman on our very first tour in 2002. Somehow we liked the idea of working with him again. A circle has come full circle for us.
Alison Mosshart: Paul claimed we fired him then. (laughs) I can not remember.
To what extent did the pandemic shape the album?
JH: Our last tour ended in November 2019 and we wanted to start working on new songs at the beginning of 2020. Once it became clear that Covid would be a serious, long-term problem, a highway of creativity opened up for us. We said to ourselves: Let’s get lost in this!
Were you happy to have a breather thanks to Corona?
AT THE: As much as I hate this time, I am grateful for it. We used the time to look back – until we reached a point where we felt like teenagers starting a band and recording their first album again. It was the same naivety, the same excitement and joy.
JH: I also think the themes on “God Games” are a bit more philosophical because it was difficult to have new experiences during the pandemic.
You still have your signature garage punk blues sound. How do you manage to maintain your own style without repeating yourself?
AT THE: By asking ourselves: What interests us? What increases our heart rate? We feel this kind of enthusiasm where you think: Oh my God, being part of this band and this album is the best thing in the world!
JH: Sometimes when you look back you think that you did some things on purpose. But in fact a lot of it is coincidence. I love the pressure of having to deliver something spontaneously and impress Alison with a riff.
A lot of exciting guitar music is coming from women right now. Do you find that encouraging?
JH: I don’t particularly like guitarists anyway. Most put virtuosity above what makes a song. Women don’t seem to have this problem. When I look at St. Vincent, she’s a fantastic guitarist, but she doesn’t write songs to show off her instrumental skills.
“God Games” is the first The Kills album that was largely written on the piano. How did that impact?
JH: It was liberating. Through the piano I regained the euphoria of the beginning. I just wanted to surprise myself. I can’t really play the piano, but I’m discovering it for myself. We’ve never written songs together like this before. Otherwise there would not have been certain sequences of notes and loops.
In “LA Hex” and “103,” you paint a dystopian picture of California damaged by climate change. How does it feel to live there?
AT THE: I don’t know if it’s particularly bad in Los Angeles. For me, the city is just representative of landscapes all over the world, places that are threatened by drought, floods or storms. And then there are all the other problems: homelessness, violence, racism. We cannot care about climate change when society is so divided.
Are you worried about developments in AI-generated music?
JH: I’m not a purist. I would take every opportunity to be creative. But I can’t see any advantage in robots making music.
AT THE: We are one of the barely protected industries. We’re at a disadvantage from the streaming thing and we’re not going to recover from it – and AI is the next step to get rid of us.
JH: The music industry is full of brilliant, radical and progressive people. But when it comes to unionizing and rebelling against this shit, there is no solidarity.
They have both played in different bands. Is it easier to resolve conflicts when you’re part of a duo?
JH: One hundred percent yes! The more members a band has, the harder it becomes. There’s something so precious about being able to make music together with your absolute best friend!