Stream Kitten Forever’s outstanding 7 Hearts LP (Release show SATURDAY!)

Kitten Forever has established themselves as standard-bearers of local art punk over the last few years, and their continued growth and hard work come crashing together on the outstanding 7 Hearts LP, which they have recently released on Atlas Chair Records. Spread out over 15 songs, each hovering just above or below the holy two-minute mark, these songs are smart, sharp, radical, fuzzy, righteous, melodic and charging. The songs are slightly more polished then their previous works, which is resulting in some (well-deserved) attention from larger audiences, but the groups hasn’t given an inch in their quest to create loud and abrasive feminist-punk.

The group change instruments on the fly when playing live, and you can tell their dexterity on their recording. Sometimes the drums are harsh, other times they swing. The bass on occasion is a buzzsaw, at other junctures it serves as the lead instrument and thunders out snarling melodies. The guitars crunch and crash, sometimes out front, other times as waves of distortion holding together the tracks. It is an inspiring, fun and combative collection of songs. These are punk anthems that are genuine to the bone, with clenched-fist, we-can-do-better messages strewn throughout the lyrics of the record.

You can celebrate the release of 7 Hearts Saturday (4/2) at the Triple Rock Social Club with great young openers Royal Brat, Cherry Cola and Bruise Violet, which means the whole lineup features bands that are either fronted by a woman or majority women, something that happens far too infrequently in our scene (and I imagine everywhere). More info/RSVP HERE.