Kill Hannah, The Pink Spiders

In eyelinered Chicago goth-pop wannabes Kill Hannah's sort-of hit "Kennedy," singer Mat Devine brags that he wants to be a Kennedy and, after living fast and breaking hearts and kissing the girls of centerfolds on the tongue, die young. We don't really believe Devine, because two songs later on that...

By Mikael Wood and Andrea Noble

February 1, 2007

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In eyelinered Chicago goth-pop wannabes Kill Hannah's sort-of hit "Kennedy," singer Mat Devine brags that he wants to be a Kennedy and, after living fast and breaking hearts and kissing the girls of centerfolds on the tongue, die young. We don't really believe Devine, because two songs later on that album (2003's For Never & Ever) he's talking about riding the Ferris wheel at Chicago's tourist trap Navy Pier. But he's still the star in this dope show, working a sexed-up androgynous wail that's way more effective than that Placebo guy's sugar-pill act. By dipping drumsticks into pogo-punk from the early '80s and splashing around in surf-rock guitars, the members of opening band Pink Spiders have avoided overdosing on pop-punk. The three boys behind the Bubblicious-meets-liquid-latex outfit serve up edgy yet playful music on their latest album, Teenage Graffiti, a disc in which they get their kicks shooting pure blues and classic rock 'n' roll into their veins.

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