Kittie - Spit

This is exactly what Tipper Gore feared. Expose your bored daughters to the toxic combination of heavy-metal death fantasies, punk-rock nihilism, violent rap misogyny, and fuck-me feminism, and Kittie is what you get. This band belies the notion that the only rock from Canada is either by hollow-voiced sirens or is over-intellectualized prog-rock. The fact that all of the band's members are still in high school is almost incidental, as Spit contains a maturity and insight, not to mention a musicianship, not usually ascribed to the under-21 set. Consider the lyrics to "Paperdoll," which addresses stereotypical images of women: "They try her on for size / She fits nice / One size fits all...." All four members are strong musicians, but special notice must be paid to lead singer Morgan Lander, who whispers kitten-soft one second and lets loose an ear-shattering howl the next. Kittie's aggressive, full-bore music, in the grand tradition of Babes in Toyland and L7, pulls no punches and makes no compromise. --Genevieve Williams