Kissers and Killers

Kissers and Killers is the seventh studio release, and the sixth full length studio album, from alternative rock band the Choir, released in 1993. It was their first release after leaving Myrrh Records, and according to drummer and lyricist Steve Hindalong, represented a major turning point for the band: "We went independent after this, and never were on a label where there were expectations of any kind of a 'ministry' or anything like that."

After the tour for Circle Slide was completed, the Choir and Myrrh Records parted ways, and the band fractured, with individual members pursuing other creative opportunities. Hindalong began producing other artists, including the Prayer Chain and Ric Alba, former bass guitarist for the Altar Boys. Saxophone and Lyricon player Dan Michaels recorded his solo EP Reveal, then began playing sax on tour for mainstream contemporary Christian performers Bryan Duncan and Crystal Lewis. the band was still perceived as "leaders in the expanding Christian alternative scene." As a result, Myrrh's parent company, Word Records, came to Daugherty and offered him a production deal and a new label, as Word was trying to bolster its roster of modern artists. "'Beautiful Scandalous Night' [ ] is a Christian radio song if we’ve ever written one," Hindalong said. "And it's sincere and from the heart; nothing phony about it. And we could have brought it home, production wise. But no, we had to put that backwards guitar loop in there, and get a good backbeat on the snare." This proved costly, and the album quickly went out of print. and after a year and a half of playing clubs, the band even considered changing their name to Kissers and Killers. The Choir played showcases of their new material in New York City and Los Angeles, and although three labels expressed interest (I. R. S. Records, Geffen Records and Fiction Records), all three ultimately passed, being unwilling to market a band in their early thirties to a teenage focused Lollapalooza audience. "In retrospect, it would have been smarter to put out another Choir record on Glasshouse and build the company," Hindalong recounted, "but we really believed we had to take that chance. Besides, I just wanted to hear my songs on the radio."

Bass guitarist Tim Chandler officially returned to the band lineup with "rekindled enthusiasm" for this album, and Kissers and Killers was recorded at Daugherty's Neverland Studios in Cerritos, California in 1992, just after the At the Foot of the Cross worship album was completed. The song "Let the Sky Fall" was built upon tracks recorded in 1990, as it was originally intended for Circle Slide; however, the band and A&R rep Tom Willett agreed it didn't fit with the tone of that album, so it was finished for Kissers and Killers instead. This would be the last album the band would record in Southern California, before Daugherty, Hindalong and Michaels chose to move across the country to Nashville, Tennessee in the latter part of 1993. Daugherty was listening heavily to shoegaze bands like My Bloody Valentine, Curve, and Swervedriver, and this influenced his guitar work on the album. Daugherty used a Groove Tubes guitar emulator for many of the tracks, Daugherty would also employ an E bow and a Fuzztame on "Amazing," as well as a MXR Distortion+ unit on "Weather Girl," the latter of which was influenced by the guitar work of Bob Mould. "The drums were so busy, rather than the regimented '80s," Hindalong added. This proved challenging for some songs – in particular, the opening track, "Gripped," which Hindalong considered "intimidating." This was the first Choir album on which Michaels received a musical credit, as he was playing a chord progression on Daugherty's Epiphone Sheraton guitar while Daugherty was out of the studio. The band liked how this melody was developing, and it was expanded into "Weather Girl." "One old man [ ] would come in, and he just knew everything about everything. 'I never pay attention to the weatherman; I knew it would rain today, because the snails were climbing halfway up the walls.' Animals have this insight that we don’t have." The lyric "My brother is a broker" was inspired by the actual career of Michaels' brother, and Hindalong claimed the message of the lyrics was essentially an early version of "What You Think I Am" on 2014's Shadow Weaver. In July 2018, both The Acoustic Sessions and the newly remastered version of the album were released on streaming services and CD, with the remastered album also receiving a vinyl release; this was the first time Kissers and Killers was issued on the latter format, and it came in red and white vinyl options. The two CD set included both The Acoustic Sessions and the remastered album on separate discs. In August 2020, the band also released a digital download of audio commentary for each of the album's eight tracks from Hindalong, Daugherty and Michaels.

Kissers and Killers was received well upon initial release. Writing for CCM Magazine, Bruce A. Brown said that the "fully realized songs" are "as good as any the band has ever written," pointing out that Kissers and Killers was "more of a transitional work, probably more indicative of where the band is headed than where it is at the moment." Brown highlighted Daugherty's musical contributions, saying that his "distortion soaked guitar is right in your face, a counterpoint to his mellow voice." Brown also praised Hindalong's "delicate wordplay" on "Grace" as well as "the late Mark Heard's accordion flourishes" on "Let the Sky Fall." In the lead review for the July/August 1993 issue of Notebored, critic Steven L. Roth highlighted the impact of 1990s era rock by stating that the album was "buried under a little more reverb and distortion than what they’ve recorded in the past, indicating a faint signal of how far and wide the 'industrial revolution' has spread." On the shift in lyrical focus, Roth added that "it is on Kissers and Killers that this tangled and painfully real representation of the little thing we call love is further expanded and scrutinized," and praised Hindalong's "resistance to conventionality" for "juxtaposing apples and oranges in an effort to avoid anything remotely close to a cliché." Liz Liew, writing for Cross Rhythms, said that on Kissers and Killers, "Derri's guitar effects are more expressive, pronounced and creative," and added that the album should give the Choir a "well deserved break with a mainstream label." Retrospective reviews have also been favorable. Writing for Allmusic, critic Darryl Cater called Kissers and Killers "a pretty polished indie album, and [ ] also one of their most aggressive. The familiar melodic pop sensibility is still audible, but Derri Daugherty's amiable vocals are surrounded by his growling and hissing guitars. It makes for an interesting combination." Mark Allan Powell, writing in the Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music, called the album's eight songs "little more than an EP," but highlighted that "'Yellow Skies' and 'Weather Girl' have a harder edge musically than most of The Choir's material. On the latter tune, Daugherty tries to copy Neil Young and ends up producing the best guitar sounds of his career."

All lyrics by Steve Hindalong and all music by Derri Daugherty, unless otherwise noted.