California band Kittenhead have crafted a playful, pop-tinged rebellious and inclusive punk sound they describe as “authentic, thought-provoking, FUN!”
This is technically the third iteration of Kittenhead with Kivi (vocals) and Dd (guitar and backing vocals) kicking things off over a decade ago. Drummer Owen was onboarded for their debut album We’re Here in 2018 and was joined by Dd’s former band members Erin (bass and backing vocals) and Mike (guitar) after the pandemic. and Owen (drums). Hailing from across Los Angeles, Orange County and San Francisco, the band’s name came from Kivi playing with her cat Roary while debating band names via Zoom, and called her Roary Boary Kittenhead.
And on the sound they’ve crafted since, Kivi told us: “Progressive punk with pop influences, melodic and driving with thought-provoking lyrics and earworms aplenty.”
Our latest taste of this is Purr (kiss kiss bang bang), which was released in February. It opens up with lively guitars and drums that continue under a little high-pitched lick and a “woo” cry sees Kivi’s engaging vocals take over. The little guitar lick creeps back in before dropping into a catchy chorus “Kiss kiss bang bang, show you, show you how it’s done, Kiss kiss bang bang, trip trip trip my tongue, Kiss kiss bang bang, show off, show off, let’s see, Kiss kiss bang bang, come on over, purr for me.” Guitar chords bridge into another engaging verse and chorus, then the guitar lick returns alongside the alluring vocals “Come on baby have a little fun, Come on baby I’m your number one, Come on baby purr for me, Come on come on,” which feed into a final blast of the chorus.
On the track, Kivi said: “The reception to Purr has been fantastic. We are getting playlisted and write-ups like this one, and even getting terrestrial radio play. Anyone who likes that old-school punk/pop catchy yet gritty vibe is gonna love this song. Purr is a sexy little come-on song – we start our set with it because it is an invitation to play. Have fun with us! Come show off and have some fun! Fair warning – Purr is a bit of an earworm!”
Purr follows on from last year’s more laid-back single Home and boisterous holiday release Fa la la. But it comes from their upcoming album Authentic, which is due for release on 7 November. “We are all very excited to release this album,” Kivi told us, “We are pressing vinyl as well, and it has been a fantastic process. Authentic runs the gamut of the human experience; it is layered and complex at times, and then can be pure and straightforward. It is truly a work from the heart on all of our parts. I am very proud of what we have created. Our sound has evolved to be bigger and more layered than our last full album.”
The Kittenhead sound draws on a wide range of influences in an “amalgamation of different times, places, and exposures.” For example, Kivi takes inspiration from Big Mama Thornton, Garbage, Scarlatti, Joan Jett, Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, ELO and Annie Lennox and Dd is big into Blondie, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Elvis, Broadway Musicals and Edith Piaf. Mike’s a fan of The Who, The Jam, Sex Pistols, The Ramones and CockSparrer, Owen is big into Led Zeppelin, The Police, Black Flag and X, and Erin takes inspiration from the likes of Carol Kaye, Cliff Burton, Steve Harris, Lemmy, Geddy, Paul, Entwistle, JPJ, Les Claypool, Robert Trujillo , Geezer, Tina Weymouth, Kim Gordon, Phil Lynott, Roger Waters, Michael Anthony and Billy Sheehan.
And on what inspires them to write music, Kivi explained: “I write music to express myself, my thoughts, and beliefs. My wishes for society and the next generation of humanity. I am influenced by the headlines, by current events, in our world, with climate change, school shootings, and people just being cruel to each other. we have to stay present and talk about what is going on in the world. I am also influenced by my own experiences, which put the passion into each expression and allow me to relate events to my life. It is my duty as a Humanist to stand and say no to our destruction. To shout into the void, as it were, but I am stubborn, so I’ll keep shouting.
And part of that is to write songs like Purr and Breathe to remind people there is joy and there is light and love, there are reasons to keep going, there are people who deserve kindness. We write music for people to express all their emotions. And the joy of being together and playing music in front of people, bringing fun into people’s lives. I guess the topic that keeps repeating is: let’s be kind to each other/don’t be a dick.”
Kittenhead’s big focus is on releasing more music videos, including a holiday song that’ll be released later in the year, along with playing gigs through the rest of the year.
And Kivi added: “Kittenhead is a great time live. We love to see you at our shows! We enjoy engaging with people in person and we invite people to sing with us, dance, show off, and have fun! Life is too short to stand around watching, come dance and play with Kittenhead next time we are in your area. Send us suggestions of where you would like to see us play, and we will try to make it happen.”
You can follow Kittenhead on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
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