aaamusic | On 24, May 2011

The Truth: Chloe Chaidez’s first ever band was called Wild Youth, who played raucous cover versions. So far, so unremarkable. Except that Chloe formed Wild Youth when she was ten, supported the likes of Conor Oberst, Midlake and Band Of Horses, and split the group up at the ripe old age of thirteen. Now Chloe Chaidez is the centrifugal force in LA’s newest underground indie-pop storm troopers KITTEN. When her second combo stalked the stages of SXSW and CMJ last year she was already looking at becoming a rock’n’roll veteran at the age of fifteen. We’ve heard of getting your teenage kicks, but surely this is ridiculous?

The ‘Sunday School’ EP is KITTEN’s debut UK release. It features five smouldering songs with alluring nods to past dirty deeds done good, careering from sultry pop which references The Boss and nods towards Karen O (‘Kill The Light’), to the power popping Nena-chopping New Wave shapes of ‘Chinatown’ which is buoyantly Kim Wilde at heart. In short, the EP is a sassy blend of art rock sensibilities, gently gothic traumas and sunny side-up Billy Idolising commercial tricks. In shorter, within 37 seconds Chaivez’s age has become irrelevant.

Plus there isn’t a cover version in sight: for the first two years after Wild Youth folded Chaivez committed to developing herself as a writer and performer, playing for anyone at anytime, be those people standing on street corners, in subway platforms, or in dive bars. She first demoed recordings of her own songs with producer Bill Racine (Mates of State, Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev). Then she soon recruited Max Kuehn, 19, on drums (who’s father Greg is a member of the revered So Cal punk band TSOL), Zach Carper, 23, on bass (engineer for Earlimart, Grandaddy and Tokyo Police Club) and friend Andy Miller, 18, on guitar to form KITTEN.

Nowadays people say that KITTEN blend jagged song structures and raw intensity with an irresistible sensibility to create a razor-sharp take on neo-new wave and post-punk. Throw in the band’s relentless live shows – a kinetic experience that’s part Iggy Pop, part The Cure and part Cat Power (and which earned them a ‘Best New Discovery of SXSW’ tag on Spin.com) and you can see why they are building a fervent fan base right up the West Coast.

Next comes a return trip to Austin in the spring, after which KITTEN will be heading to the UK for live shows around the ‘Sunday School’ EP’s release. Lock up your daughters! Oh, hang on a minute…

Track listing:
‘Kill The Light’
‘Chinatown’
‘Johnny Johnny Johnny’
‘Allison Day’
‘Kitten With A Whip’

Come see Kitten at the following live dates:
Sun 22 May, Nottingham, Rescue Rooms (supporting Funeral Party)
Tue 24 May, London, Heaven (supporting Funeral Party)
Thu 26 May, Brighton, Concorde 2 (supporting Funeral Party)
Fri 27 May, Bournemouth, Old Fire Station (supporting Funeral Party)
Sat 28th May, Cardiff, Millenium Centre (supporting Funeral Party)
Mon 30 May, Sheffield, Leadmill (supporting Funeral Party)
Tue 31 May, Wolverhampton, Slade Rooms (supporting Funeral Party)