I recently started playing guitar again.  It’s always been an on-again, off-again thing for me.

One of the major reasons I pick the instrument back up is hearing someone new and thinking, “What the heck is this guy/gal doing?”  After enough listening, you end up looking up guitar tabs, and before you know it, you’re getting yourself in tune and playing along.  The last guitarist who managed to do this to me was Jamie Hince of The Kills, who I first heard about a year ago.  Googling him will probably bring up more pictures of girlfriend Kate Moss than anything else.

Hince with Ms. Mosshart

Hince with Ms. Mosshart

The Kills are a duo made up of himself and the smoldering Alison Mosshart, and the dynamic between them seems to be one of one-upmanship.  The obvious contrasts/comparisons to the White Stripes aside, it’s dingy and dirty garage blues with restrained augmentation.  The heart of their sound is shared, snarling vocals and Hince’s furious attack on the guitar.  Over the course of their three-album (so far) career, the use of drum machines and synths have made their way into some furious tunes, but always as an accompaniment and never a distraction.

Jamie doesn’t do much of anything new per se, but his execution is what piques my interest.  What makes him appealing to me is that he seems to be screwing around with his guitar from time to time, looking for what sounds right and plugging away at it, whether it sounds perfect or not.  Healthy doses of distortion fill it out, but like the synthesized instruments they use, even the fuzz box is only an accessory to the instrument.  He’s also fond of drop-tuning, which gives the sound some extra balls.  This is all evidence of a guy who knows how to get what he wants out of his instrument, and I always admire that.

As a result of listening to The Kills, I have been spending more time with my old bootleg Stratocaster.  Sometimes it’s not just what you’re playing, but the way you’re playing it.  Jamie Hince is one guitarist who exemplifies this concept.

Here’s the video for “Last Day of Magic,” which is pretty cool if you ask me.