The Klittens – Have A Heart LP

It has been a long time since we stumbled upon a band that truly stands out from anything you could possibly hear on the music scene nowadays. If you pay close attention to what’s happening on the music scene, you’ll probably notice how various influencers, social media, and streaming platforms dictate the trends, often offering repetitive, predictable, and bland recordings that sound just like those recorded and performed by many renowned names in the game. Sadly, the modern music landscape rarely offers true gems, but that doesn’t mean there are no bands who push their creativity further. Quite the contrary, if you dig deeper, you’ll find plenty of artists and bands who take their job seriously and craft music worth spinning over and over again. The Klittens are certainly one of those bands that deserve your utmost attention, as they break all the rules, shapeshift the boundaries, and deliver fresh, unique, innovative music with such precision and finesse. With “Have A Heart,” their marvelous debut full-length album released recently on vinyl record and all streaming platforms, this outstanding Dutch band reshapes several complementary music genres in order to deliver a captivating listening experience that will appeal to even the pickiest music enthusiasts. Perhaps post-punk comes to mind first, as The Klittens fully stacked this fine piece of sonic artistry with all the fundamental elements of the genre, but do not be surprised if you stumble upon some of the finest properties borrowed from indie rock, art rock, garage, alternative, riot grrrl, and many other similar styles. The group uses these additional sonic ingredients as more than necessary enhancements, accentuations, decorations, and other details to enhance the listening experience on an entirely new level while simultaneously remaining loyal to the primary sonic direction, proving that they thought about everything while writing, composing, arranging, and producing this gem. Also, “Heave A Heart” is uplifted with qualities that meet all the trends in modern music production, making this material such an enjoyable voyage through the sonic universe that will not only appeal to the longtime post-punk fans, but also to anyone who appreciates tastefully assembled and flawlessly performed music.

“Heave A Heart” is one of those records that, once you put a needle on the wax, wraps around your listening apparatus and refuses to let go long after the last notes and beats fade away. It owes its brilliance to the creativity, talent, and experience of the entire band, as each member brings brilliant ideas and outstanding musicianship to the table. Each vocal, sonic, and rhyhtmic maneuver is perfectly calculated and performed to perfection, which is rarety on the contemporary music scene nowadays. When you examine each composition separately, you’ll notice how every song arrives with perfect structure, decorated with beautiful arrangements, profoundly detailed segments, and other embellishments that make the record an outstanding one. But also, The Klittens are one of those bands who are not overcrowding their records with unnecessary details. Unlike many music outlets that pack their music with too many layers, elements, soundscapes, and other details, this Dutch quintet proves that less is always more. Do not get me wrong, their music is complex, but to the point where you can truly hear all five members singing in harmony; each guitar shines in the limelight; every intricate bassline commands attention; and the drums keep the momentum going. That’s it. There are no thousands of layers overcrowding these significant orchestrations and spoiling all the fun. Quite the contrary, this band exists at the crossroads between post-punk and art-rock, where their instrumentation might sound minimal to experienced ears, but to those longtime post-punk fans, “Have A Heart” will represent a masterpiece where each member of the band is a highly intelligent individual who knows what works best for this band. Songs like “Have A Heart,” “Taxi,” “Nothing To Teach,” “Triple Threat,” “Bank Account,” “Badlands,” and “Fool Me Once” exemplify their less-is-more technique, yet they sound so complex, intricate, and captivating. What’s even more important is how all these songs could become staples on your playlist, as they burst with so many qualities all the time.

The vocals levitate somewhere between soulful, passionate, emotive, sincere, and confident chants that carry hypnotic and addictive post-punk melody and harmony, but there are also moments where The Klittens offer fiercer, raw, unfiltered, aggressive shouts, in a true feminist punk and riot grrrl fashion. In the meantime, the guitar brings those marvelous, jangly, angular, sharp, yet tastefully distorted riffs and chord progressions, which are perfectly paired with catchy, memorable, engaging themes, melodies, harmonies, and other sonic maneuvers. Equally important is the role of bass guitar here, as all those lush, warm, groovy low ends bring more than necessary depth, clarity, melody, and heaviness, all while binding the mentioned instrumentation with rhyhtmic patterns. Of course, this brilliant album wouldn’t sound complete without the exceptional drumming performance, which in this case, offers a comprehensive collection of tastefully arranged, flawlessly performed, well-accentuated beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics. Each instrument has its place and purpose, making “Have A Heart” such a remarkable debut album. The Klittens have created a post-punk/indie rock masterpiece where each composition could easily end up as the next big hit. Their songwriting and composing abilities are on full display here, as The Klittens crafted a standout record that unquestionably deserves your utmost attention. Therefore, head to their Bandcamp page and purchase this gem on vinyl. Do not miss it!