Spit (album)

Spit
Studio album by Kittie
Released January 11, 2000
Recorded 1999, EMAC Recording Studios,[1] London, Ontario
Genre Nu metal
Length 37:23
Label Artemis
Producer Garth Richardson
Kittie chronology
Spit
(1999)		 Oracle
(2001)
Singles from Spit
  1. "Brackish"
    Released: 2000
  2. "Charlotte"
    Released: 2000
  3. "Paperdoll"
    Released: 2000
Alternative cover

Spit is the debut album by the heavy metal band Kittie. Produced by Garth Richardson,[2] the album was released on January 11, 2000[3][4] by Artemis Records.[5]

Background

Kittie was formed in 1996[6] when drummer Mercedes Lander and guitarist Fallon Bowman met in gym class.[7] Mercedes' sister Morgan Lander became the lead vocalist and guitarist after weeks of Fallon and Mercedes jamming.[6] Tanya Candler completed the lineup by joining as the bassist. Kittie created demos and began playing gigs in 1998.[6] Kittie played gigs at Call the Office and The Embassy and signed up for Canadian Music Week in 1999.[6] The band approached Jake Weiner, a person who was second in command at NG Records. Kittie made him see them play live and Weiner and the rest of NG Records signed Kittie in the summer of 1999.[6] Kittie got signed to the NG Records-distributed record label Artemis Records and producer Garth Richardson obtained Kittie's demo.[7] NG Records was bought out by Artemis Records. Thus, Kittie ended up on Artemis Records.[6]

Kittie member Morgan Lander noted that the songs were "all written when we were 14 years old." She noted that Kittie was largely influenced by alternative music, listing "bands like Nirvana, Silverchair and Alice in Chains" as major influences. The band wrote the music first to serve as a "backdrop" to Morgan's vocals.[8]

Music and lyrics

Spit is a nu metal album[9][10][11][12][13][14] that features elements of heavy metal,[3] speed metal,[15] groove metal,[16] alternative metal,[16] alternative rock,[17] death metal,[3][18][19][20] techno[18][2][4] and hip-hop.[14] Exclaim! wrote that the album Spit "plays like an inconsistent collection of stale 1991-era Pantera and Sepultura B-sides, overdubbed with the occasional 1995 techno sprinkle for a somewhat modern measure."[2] Spit has characteristics such as heavy riffs,[16] rapping,[14] clean singing and screaming.[21] Allmusic said that the album brandishes a "meatier, heavier sound than contemporaries Limp Bizkit and Korn".[4]

The album's lyrical themes are about topics such as hatred, ignorance and sexism.[22] Allmusic noted the album's pro-feminism lyrical themes.[4] The song "Jonny" is said to be a reaction to men dominating over women.[23] "Paperdoll" is about the degradation of women as objects.[23] "We want to destroy the idea that a lot of men see women as blowup dolls. We want to break that, because we're better than that," says Morgan Lander.[18] The song "Choke" is an emotional response to betrayal. "That song's about someone telling you that they love you so much, and they put you up on a pedestal and make you feel great, then they turn around and say 'screw you,'" says Fallon Bowman.[18] Mercedes Lander explained the meaning of the song "Do You Think I'm a Whore", saying:

Although bassist Talena Atfield (pictured in this image) is with Kittie on Spit's album cover, Tanya Candler actually played bass on Spit.[24] Candler left Kittie and was replaced by Atfield.[25]
"That's about the way that I perceive myself and the way other people tend to perceive me. There are times that I really don't think that people get what we're doing and understand where we're coming from. We're girls, playing in a guys business..."[18]

Morgan Lander explained the meaning on the song "Do You Think I'm a Whore", saying "the song is about not judging a book by its cover and digging deeper into the substance to reveal that ... things aren’t what they seem. The title is like that basically to prove people wrong”.[22] Morgan Lander also said that the song "Do You Think I'm a Whore" "is about how people automatically think you're a slut because you wear a short skirt."[9] Mercedes Lander explained the meaning of the album Spit's title track, which she says is her favorite song on the album, saying "People expect us to suck, then we get on stage and blow them away. One minute they're just standing there, then their mouths drop open and their dicks feel small."[18][26] The song "Spit" was inspired by attitudes local bands had towards Kittie.[22] Morgan Lander said that Spit is "a dark album, but it's about every day life which isn't always peachy," she said. "Life doesn't always treat you as nice as you'd like, but you shouldn't blow your head off because something goes wrong."[9]

Promotion, release and commercial performance

Although the album is not Kittie's biggest chart success, Spit remains their most successful album, being certified gold by the RIAA[27] on October 17, 2000.[5] The album has sold at least 600,000 copies in the United States and at least 40,000 copies in Canada.[28] Although the album was finished in August 1999, it wasn't released until January 2000 because a long setup time for the album was wanted. During around this time, radio specialty shows and early press were supporting the album.[29] Their debut album and supporting tour earned Kittie coverage in Metal Edge, whose readers voted Morgan Lander for "Female Performer of the Year" and Spit for "Home Video of the Year" in the magazine's 2000 Readers' Choice Awards. The band was also voted "New Band of the Year", "Who's Going to be the Next Big Thing", and "Most Underrated Band", earning them a total of five Metal Edge Readers' Choice Awards that year.[30] Before the album Spit was released, Kittie was featured prominently in an "MTV News 1515" report.[29] Also, the album's music video for the song "Brackish" got exposure on MTV and heavy rotation on the radio station WAAF.[29]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[4]
Robert ChristgauC+[31]
The Daily News4/5[32]
NME4/10[33]
Select[12]
Rolling Stone[34]

Spit received mostly mixed to positive reviews. Rolling Stone gave the album a 3 out of 5 and wrote

"The four gothed-out ontario teenagers of Kittie are spitting mad -- as the title of their debut album indicates -- but, being high schoolers as well as Canadians, they're mad at nothing in particular. This makes the earnest Spit fairly good-natured for an exercise in repetitive maximum aggro."[34]

Robert Christgau gave the album a C+ and wrote "Proof that Korn fans aren't sexist--they were just waiting for four cute teenage girls to come out bellowing "Get Off (You Can Eat a Dick)." Waiting so eagerly, in fact, that whether the girls bellowed loud enough was beside the point." Roxanne Blanford of Allmusic gave the album a 3.5 out of 5 and wrote

"These 12 emotionally brutal tracks exhibit high degrees of angry, brash, pro-feminist declarations, proving these young women learned well the lessons of predecessors Joan Jett, Lita Ford, and the current reigning queen of angst-rock, Courtney Love. Kittie bites just as hard as the boys, as evidenced in the steely guitar churn of "Brackish" and the caustic burn of "Raven," wherein Morgan Lander's grating vocals shatter all illusions that women can't spew rock venom with the best of them."[4]

Teen Ink gave the album an extremely positive review, writing

"Kittie is a Canadian band made up of four girls who can rock, yell and keep up with any hardcore band out there. Ranging in age from 15 to 18, you'd think they'd sing about love and boys like the rest of the female pop artists most American teens listen to, but when I listened to the title track, I was surprised that their throat, bass lines and dark melodies reminded me of the good old days of hardcore rock. It is a breath of fresh air to hear Kittie sing about things they hate and people they can't stand. That may sound harsh, but I know I'm not the only one sick of the happy, superficial music out there. With Kittie, one minute you'll hear the gorgeous, soothing voice of lead singer Morgan Lander, the next you'll be startled, but impressed, by her scream, "Stay away from me, Get away from me.""[21]

The CMJ New Music Report made a positive review of the album, writing content such as "So, you think Josie & the Pussycats are the quintessential chicks who rock with reckless abandon, huh? Well, the teenage babes in Ontario, Canada's Kittie will scratch and claw their way into the dark recesses of your hearts thanks to their debut, the smashing 'n' stomping Spit" and "Kittie is the band that your kid sister will happily adopt when she rebels and grows outta her Backstreet Boys phase. Me-fucking-ow."[3] Select referred to the album as "gloriously unfocused rage" with musical boundries remaining "unchallenged by their formulaic riffing or Morgan Lander's Courtney-with-a-more-powerful-brand-of-throat-sweets vocals". The review concluded that "it's Kittie's ability, as much as their novelty value, that makes them so remarkable."[12] The Washington Post gave Spit a negative review stating that "All four members of this Canadian metal-punk band are women, which is still a novel (though certainly not unique) lineup for a headbanging ensemble. Too bad that's virtually the quartet's only distinguishing feature."[35] The review concluded that "after four or five of these pounding rockers, Kittie becomes a bore."[35] Exclaim.ca gave Spit a negative review, writing

"The only hinge of credibility that Spit swings on is the fact that it’s produced by Canuck studio wunderkind GGGarth Richardson (Melvins, Rage Against the Machine). He injects far too much testosterone into the band, using enough overtly suspicious studio trickery such as triggers and sampling, making the album sound synthetic. Guidance Counsellor's advice: pull the plug and stay in school."[2]

NME gave the album a rating of 4 out of 10, writing

“ Like kindred spirits System Of A Down, Kittie want to give you the impression that they're just too tasty to fuk wit, too unhinged to view as normal folk, too pierced for the mainstream. All poppycock, of course, when their social extremism amounts to tossing tired adolescent-friendly soundbites around ('Do You Think I'm A Whore', 'Get Off (You Can Eat A Dick)'), writing their sleevenotes a LoT LiKe THiS and whacking the low frequencies up so they threaten to loosen bowels at 1,000 paces. RaD. Which is the cruellest of ironies because, if they didn't feel they had to try so hard, Kittie could be one of the most (uncom)promising fem-centric rock'n'roll bands of the new millennium. There's certainly a modicum of bona fide angst on tracks like 'Suck', and Kittie totally understand the life-affirming effect of ridiculous low-end riffage. But no, guitarist Fallon Bowman and company are way too conscious of the nu-metal zeitgeist to affect any real menace.[33] ”

Steve Kandell of MTV wrote about Spit: "Lacking any perceivable musical virtuosity or lyrical acumen, the young women of Kittie are nonetheless capable players. Spit offers 12 bile-spewing dirges featuring churning guitars and angry growling vocals that are probably no worse than your average Coal Chamber tune, although that may be damning with faint praise". Kandell called the album's song "Charlotte" "impressively layered". Kandell also wrote "Though Spit is far from sugarcoated or commercial, there is a vague underlying sense of gimmickry to the whole endeavor".[36] Maui V. Reyes of the Philippine Daily Inquirer criticized the album's harsh vocals, but wrote "these girls can rock, and it's evident in tracks like "Raven," "Brackish" and "Charlotte."" Reyes also wrote "these girls can jam with the likes of Incubus and Pantera. Think of them as a female version of Korn."[37] Billboard wrote "Everything about "Spit" is supposed to be titillating—from the jailbait visual image of the act's four teen female members to the winking yet completely harmless lyrical content. Alas, everything about the project seems a tad too calculated to actually trigger the desired response."[38]

The album was put at number 24 on Metal Descent's list called "The 25 Best Alternative Metal Albums".[16] The album's song "Brackish" was put on "The 19 Best Nu-Metal Hits of All Time" by Fuse.[14]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Morgan Lander, Mercedes Lander and Fallon Bowman. 

No. Title Length
1. "Spit"   2:20
2. "Charlotte"   3:56
3. "Suck"   3:31
4. "Do You Think I'm a Whore"   3:00
5. "Brackish"   3:06
6. "Jonny"   2:24
7. "Trippin'"   2:21
8. "Raven"   3:25
9. "Get Off (You Can Eat a Dick)"   2:52
10. "Choke"   4:05
11. "Paperdoll"   3:22
12. "Immortal"   2:49
Total length:
 37:23

Personnel

Main personnel
Additional personnel

Chart positions

Chart Peak position
Top Heatseekers 1[39]
Billboard 200 79[39]
Top Independent Albums 14[39]

Sources

References

  1. ↑ Kittie's Spit album at Discogs
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Kittie Spit". Exclaim.ca. - Published: December 1st, 1999 - Retrieved: August 24th, 2015
  3. 1 2 3 4 "MUST HEAR" 61 (652). CMJ New Music Report. February 7, 2000. ISSN 0890-0795.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Allmusic review
  5. 1 2 "American certifications – Kittie". RIAA. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "An interview with Morgan Lander of Kittie". London Groove Machine. July 3rd 2014
  7. 1 2 Roxanne Blanford. "Kittie | Biography & History". Allmusic.
  8. ↑ Joseph, Peter Sno-core Ball hits with metal edge 'The GW Hatchet (Feb 8, 2001). Retrieved Jun 16, 2011.
  9. 1 2 3 Paul Brannigan (March 4, 2000). "Teen Spirit". No. 791. Kerrang!.
  10. ↑ Simon Young (March 25, 2000). "KITTIE HUNDRED REASONS". No. 794. Kerrang!.
  11. ↑ Christine Muhlke (1999). "KITTIE". Vol. 15 no. 12. SPIN. p. 88. ISSN 0886-3032.
  12. 1 2 3 Muirhead, Stuart (April 2000). "Albums". Select. p. 93.
  13. ↑ Phillips, Cogan, William, Brian (2009). Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal Music. ABC-CLIO. p. 135. ISBN 9780313348006. (March 20th, 2009). Retrieved on September 22nd, 2015
  14. 1 2 3 4 "The 19 Best Nu-Metal Hits of All Time". Fuse. 11 February 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  15. ↑ Jeff Bercovici (1999). "Kittie, Spit (partial) (© 1999 Ng Records)". NY Rock.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "The 25 Best Alternative Metal Albums". Metal Descent.
  17. ↑ Hannaham, James (2002). "UNDERAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE" 18 (1). SPIN: 25. ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Kittie Bio". Washington Post.
  19. ↑ "Kittie - Spit (1999 Ng Records)". FEMMUSIC.
  20. ↑ Udo, Tommy (2002). Brave Nu World. Sanctuary Publishing. p. 145. ISBN 1-86074-415-X.
  21. 1 2 "Kittie - Spit". Teen Ink.
  22. 1 2 3 "Kittie Drummer: We're Not A 'Girl Metal Band'". MTV. January 25th 2000
  23. 1 2 "Kittie Plays the Fillmore". FEMMUSIC. February 11, 1999.
  24. ↑ Garry Sharpe-Young (2005). New Wave of American Heavy Metal. Zonda Books Limited. p. 187. ISBN 0-9582684-0-1.
  25. ↑ Roxanne Blanford. "Kittie | Biography & History". Allmusic.
  26. ↑ "cd reviews". The Stranger. February 3rd, 2000
  27. ↑ Kittie biography at Allmusic
  28. ↑ "Kittie File Lawsuit Against Their Record Label". Blabbermouth.
  29. 1 2 3 Carla Hay (March 25, 2000). "ARTEMIS' TEEN ROCKERS KITTIE CLAW UP THE BILLBOARD 200". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media) 112 (13): 13, 16. ISSN 0006-2510.
  30. ↑ Metal Edge, June 2001
  31. ↑ "Robert Christgau review". Robertchristgau.com. Retrieved Nov 10, 2012.
  32. ↑ "New all-girl group gets a thumbs up". The Daily News. February 2, 2000. p. 13-A.
  33. 1 2 "Spit". NME. September 12, 2005.
  34. 1 2 "Kittie: Spit". Rolling Stone. Feb 11, 2007. Archived from the original on February 11, 2007. Retrieved Nov 10, 2012.
  35. 1 2 Jenkins, Mark (January 21, 2000). "Slipknot "Slipknot" Roadrunner; Kittie "Spit" Artemis". The Washington Post. p. N07.
  36. ↑ Steve Kandell (December 28, 1999). "Spice Grrrls". MTV.
  37. ↑ Maui V. Reyes (November 22, 2000). "Bands with a wrecking ball". Philippine Daily Inquirer. p. E 3.
  38. ↑ "KITTIE Spit". Billboard. Vol. 112 no. 4 (Nielsen Business Media, Inc.). January 22, 2000. p. 30. ISSN 0006-2510.
  39. 1 2 3 Kittie Awards - Allmusic

External links

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