For all of you that are unfamiliar with Kittie, Kittie was formed in 1996 by sisters Mercedes (drums) and Morgan Lander (vocals/guitar). They were only 15 and 17 when they released their first album, that album was known as "Spit." Spit hit it in the Gold, and has sold around 1,250,000 albums worldwide. So it is there more well-known and enjoyable album. Although Kittie doesn't get much positive praise and credibility as they would like to; Kittie has still managed to stand out and be noticed in the competitive world of metal. After the release of Spit followed the Paperdoll EP a year later in 2000, then in 2001 came Oracle, their second full-length album. After "Spit," Kittie started using less actual singing and brought screams to the table. Which was probably the biggest mistake they could have made; turning alot of fans off with the sound. Their fan base started to drop. But despite their fan base Kittie keeps on trucking with more albums and more songs, almost as if they don't have a care in the world of what people think about them.
Kittie's line-up is:
Morgan Lander : Voc/Guitar
Mercedes Lander : Drums
Fallon Bowman: Guitar/Voc
Talena Atfield: Bass/Voc
To start this album off, is the opening track. Known as the self-titled track "Spit". Right away you'll notice the over use of power chords and simple drum rolls. If it wasnt for the power and explosiveness of the songs, this would make a really boring album. As Mercedes, Fallon, and Talena all do a pretty good job of playing together, and keeping it fairly tight knit. They all play from a really fast and loud sound, to a somewhat slow and exotic sound, to get their sound alive and entertaining. If it wasnt for this slow to fast exploding sound of theirs, I would probably fall asleep in the middle of the album. Shortly after "Spit" comes their somewhat known song "Charlotte." Charlotte is a breath of fresh air after listening through the song Spit. Morgan doesn't give you that angry growl that she once had as much. Just every here and there. And everything is pretty much just cleaned up. Guitars are clear, as same with the bass and drums. But still nothing technical. Charlotte shows Kittie's more melodic sound. The same pretty much goes with the next song "Suck." I personally think that Kittie would just be much better off if Morgan would lose the horrid screams here and there, and focused right on singing. And if Fallon and Morgan would learn some more technicality in their playing.
Now on to track #4. "Do You Think I'm A Whore." I personally would be scared to answer that question with a "yes." This song is done well. With a couple really catchy hooks here and there. And Morgan's vocals go from soft and clear to horse and angry, and she gives off this devilish laugh in the background mid-way through the song. Still mainly power chords and what not. You might as well just get used to that if your wanting to check Kittie out. This is a great track, and one of my favorites from the album. Shortly after following on track #5 will comes the notorious "Brackish." If you have never heard "Brackish" before, your in for a treat my friend. The guitar work and drums are tighter than they have ever been before, and Morgan does something with her vocals that Corey Taylor (Slipknot) would be proud of. This song is definitely the highlight of the album, and is a must for a virgin Kittie listener. Brackish is Kittie at their best, and is would be great if they made more songs like this.
After "Brackish" comes another great track known as "Jonny." "Jonny" is another song that is done well and may be influenced by the way they did "Brackish." One of the good things about Kittie is how they are actually capable of writing some decent lyrics. In the song "Jonny," Morgan sings with anger at the very beginning of the song "What does he tell me this time?" and picking it up to a faster pace "We're just whores on a ***ing assembly line." Probably not putting a great deal of thought into the lyrics, but they are not exactly "whipped" up. I've heard much worse.
Onto track #7, that goes by the name of "Trippin." Through the song, Morgan uses the vocals as if she's telling a story, then through the song she's angered by somebody and then sh*it she's tired of taking from this person. A kind of punk rock influenced song, but of course with the metal side. A great track and shows the more experimental side of Kittie. I notice through this album that the songs are placed pretty good with eachother. And is able to keep the listeners attention. "Trippin" then straight to #8 "Raven" is a good example. Where they pretty much blend in with eachother with the same sound, but not enough to be considered repetitive. There are nothing really special about both of the songs, like I stated earlier, just a more experimental side of Kittie. Not exactly balls to the wall all the through.
Skipping onto track #10 is the song "Choke." The first 40 seconds of Choke is nothing but simple chugging guitar riffs and drum beats. There is actually a very deep harsh meaning behind this track, where Morgan sings "I looked over you, I looked over me." "Look at you and smile, pedophile!" This song is a harsh slap in the face, and is almost breath taking. This song speeds up more and more as it furthers to the end. I think its one of the more overlooked tracks on the album, and deserves more credit than what it gets. On the lines of being overlooked, the same goes with the next track, "Paperdoll." Paperdoll is an acoustic song, that is just catchy as hell. It also displays Morgans vocals at its best. I wish Morgan would use these vocals more often, it shows she does have real talent. This track elevates also as it nears towards the end. But this song isnt acoustic all the way through, when it gets to about the 2:30 mark, the chugging guitars come in, and so does the pounding drums. But sadly ends quickly after about the last minute. And finally the last track "Immortal." There is nothing really great about the last track, it just makes a good last track, showing the somewhat softer side of Kittie, and then of course, now the cliche elevation of the song kicks in. There are no vocals to Immortal, chorus all the way though.
Unfortunatly, the first three tracks are the ones you shouldn't be judging Kittie by. As the album highlights are #4 all the way to #11. This is not a good album for metal fans that are looking for much originality, double bass drums, and occasional guitar solos. But I do recommend this album ahead of all of Kittie later albums. This is indeed Kittie's best work. The lyrics are mediocre, and same with the vocals. But the vocals are much easier to take when she is singing and not screaming. The tracks are placed very well.
Recommended Tracks:
Brackish
Paperdoll
Jonny
Do You Think I''m A Whore
