by Jessica Dooley
New bands are, no doubt, a dime a dozen. They form in garages the world over, uploading fragmented and ill-produced demo records to the net like some never ending form of musical spam. Few musicians truly seem born to do what they’re doing, which is far from the case of KITTEN front woman, Chloe Chaidez.
“I’ve been doing this for so long, it’s really gradual for me,” she says over the phone with the air of a music industry vet. “It’s all been building really slowly since I was 16, playing live.” Unfazed isn’t quite the vibe that I got from the 18-year-old singer. She is self-assured, ready and luckily so, because KITTEN is already building a momentum that is not going to slow down.
With a resume that boasts everything from stints playing South By Southwest this past spring and opening for The Joy Formidable, Paramore and No Doubt, it’s obvious that several stars are aligning in the direction for a very successful career for the young act. The wisdom exuded on their debut EP, Cut It Out, harkens back to the humble beginnings of New Wave, with airy electronic arrangements, nifty upbeat tempos and just a dash of pop-punk charisma. Backed too by a mixture of Chaidez’s light vocals and whimsical lyrics, “Cut It Out” is slated to become a quintessential summer mixtape favorite for fans of everything from Be Your Own Pet to Depeche Mode.
KITTEN very much represents the age of music today, all charm and sophistication. Edgy but with a polished feel that suggests they’re from a much different time. But with influences that range from Jeremy Scott to Edie Sedgwick, it’s hard for that not to cross over into the music. “There’s this (idea of) ultimate poshness that’s in my head all the time and, for some reason, I find that really great; from old Duran Duran videos or Madonna videos, old James Bond films—this idea of just sort of poshness and chicness that can only be expressed through art.”
Chaidez definitely expresses herself on this record, exposing both bratty sentiments and the wanderlust that typifies her age bracket. The title track demands that the listener, “Just let me breathe.” But that shouldn’t suggest that Chaidez or any members of the band are at all experiencing even the slightest sentiment of anxiety. She asserts, “I’m in a place where I’m satisfied musically and we’re all prepared for the next step, whatever that is.”
Whatever that next step may be, you can bet that KITTEN will be at the forefront, completely posh and poised to take over the indie new wave world.
