BY CHELSEY JOHNSTONE
From 2009 to the present time, the band Kitten has been evolving musically for just about an entire decade. With the release of their newest EP, Goodbye Honeymoon Phase, along with front woman Chloe Chaidez’s collaboration with electro-pop artist Charlie XCX on a new side project, Kitten has been exploring new musical territories across a large spectrum.
Over the past years, Kitten has taken on different identities. Since its beginning, the group has explored multiple genres such as new wave, synth-pop, alternative rock, and pop punk. However, through all extensions of sound this band has musically explored, Kitten is still striving for more.
According to Chaidez, who has been spearheading the group since its beginning, 2019 has become another period for more musical exploration. She states, “I actually feel a similar way about the EP that I just released, Goodbye Honeymoon Phase, to how I felt when I made the Cut it Out EP, in the sense that it felt extremely fresh to myself as an artist. I was diving into new territory I’ve never gone before.”
Kitten has now once again taken a leap into another switch in sound; this time, in a genre only Chaidez can describe herself. “It’s like I want to be Michelle Branch on Pluto with a Mick Jagger haircut. That’s what it is,” she says. To put into context that concept, Chaidez says, “I think we’re inspired by a lot of experimental pop and we also have very classic influences in terms of rock. So I think that makes for some really interesting sounds.”
She continues, “We were getting really inspired by the early 2000s... kind of that ‘let’s go to the mall’ aesthetic. That’s the direction I’m headed in for sure. That’s the space I’m in now. It’s an elaboration but I think it’s a lot different.”
To help guide their path along this new direction of music, the group is constantly merging the vibes of various artists to form combinations of sound that are uniquely their own. With inspiration from artists such as Annie Lennox, Good Charlotte, No Doubt, The Police, Paramore and much more, Chaidez, along with her group, has concocted a taste of their own musical influence within their latest EP Goodbye Honeymoon Phase.
The key to piecing this album together, according to Chaidez, is to have a heightened focus on feeling, rather than forced sound. She states, “I think lyrically it’s a real stream of consciousness. There wasn't a lot of thought put into any of the lyrics or the concept behind them because I think that’s how my mind is. Pretty scattered honestly.”
She continues, “Melodies are almost like a spiritual thing because you don’t really know where they’re coming from. So I think the words that you’re putting to melodies just happen sometimes; there’s no rhyme or reason to it. And that’s the beauty of writing.”
Although there was no science behind piecing together the music of this newest EP, Chaidez still holds strong to the belief this scattered form of music can connect to her audience.
“You know, one moment I’m thinking about a spicy tuna roll and the next moment I’m worried that my best friend hasn’t texted back. I think that’s a very relatable concept because, man, none of us can get our shit together,” she says.
Ironically, with music representing the fact none of us have our shit together, Chaidez in particular seems to be getting her ducks in a row this year. Amongst the variety of attention Kitten has received from their newest EP, Chaidez has also joined the band Nasty Cherry, put together by pop artist Charli XCX, as the lead guitarist. The group released its first single, “Win”, in March of this year and quickly worked their way up to a Netflix Original Series documenting the bands growth that premiered this November 15th.
“Charlie XCX put Nasty Cherry together and curated the band. I think working with her and those girls is really inspiring. I mean, she sprints towards her ideas like an Olympic runner,” says Chaidez. The all-girl, female empowerment band was created in hopes of giving all women inspiration to succeed in anything they aim to accomplish. Chaidez says, “(Charlie XCX) taught me not to really think about anything and just do it. Nike. Aye.”
Between her long-running group Kitten and her newest involvement in the band Nasty Cherry, Chaidez is taking shows no signs of slowing down within the music field. She states, “I’ve never explored this zone that I’m in right now. I think I found kind of more of an identity and I feel a little bit more mature to translate what I am thinking into music.”
You can download and stream Goodbye Honeymoon Phase on all major music streaming services. Follow @kittentheband as well as @nastycherryband on Instagram to watch the growth of Chloe Chaidez and her musical career.
