Indie pop fivesome The Klittens spring from the same vibrant, ever-expanding Amsterdam scene as Pip Blom, Personal Trainer, Global Charming, and Steve French. They bring something decisively unique within said scene: a knack for contrasting lush, dream-like melodies, intimate lyricism and charming, hook-filled pop immediacy. Fans of Liz Phair, The Breeders, Yo La Tengo, and Chastity Belt should promptly home in on their fantastic latest single “Canned Air”.
“The song builds up around a single note and gets more and more dramatic as it progresses,” the band says of the track. “The vocals fight for a moment in the spotlight and find togetherness in the choir, only to get distorted by a raw and loud break. In a way, it follows some kind of 6-stage plot structure, as it ends in completion; an aftermath.”
Though all five band members wield songwriting and vocal duties, this particular track came from lead guitarist Winnie Conradi in the wake of intense heartbreak. What feels like a reckoning to deal with internally inevitably has to be funneled towards loved ones close by to fully process and overcome. Congruently, “Canned Air” masterfully works its way to a cathartic punk rock release.
The video – directed by Personal Trainer-member Kilian Kayser – portrays the intricacies of heartbreak and friendship in a poignant, spirited way. The band members are all dressed in Pussy Riot-ish balaclava’s, circling around a mysterious chest hidden under a mystical-looking tree. One of them makes off with it, only to be caught by the rest of the gang to exorcise the heartache together like some kind of blood ritual.
It’s not known whether the band has an album or EP in the works, but it was however revealed they have been in the studio with producer Remko Schouten, well known for his work with Pavement.
You can follow The Klittens on Bandcamp, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
