photo by Emilie Storrs; photo courtesy of Amanda White

Album Review of Amanda White: Kittens Give Zero Fucks

Old-school, New York punk rock energy meets at-times progressive rock arrangements, capped with a voice capable of “hitting oh-my-god!” notes. Amanda White‘s music feels simultaneously familiar and completely original. This opera singer with a punk rock soul produces music that’s potentially appealing to dyed-in-the-wool punks, expansive progressive rockers, and many of us in-between with the mix of power, punk, impossible vocals, and clever, catchy songwriting found on Kittens Give Zero Fucks.

“Last to Bite” ably opens the disc with a edgy, soaring vocals, crunchy guitarwork, and an unrelenting steady beat that marches forward with the purposefulness of a story-advancing rock-theater piece.

album art by James Sullivan; image courtesy of Amanda White

The punk attitude comes to the forefront of the next track, “Fuckall Rockstar,” a devil-may-care, norms-be-damned rocker with only-in-punk lyrics like “got a rack like Michelle Obama,” “every virgin has been unchasted,” and “sir, your voice is a little scrapy, and your tone is a little rapey.” But it’s sooooo catchy, you’ll soon be singing along. Best not to listen to this song on your way to work if you’re prone to singing aloud the song stuck in your head, ’cause this tune will set up camp in there.

Speaking of earworms, the next song, Amanda’s energetic “Whackadoodle World” with its crunchy, hooky guitar line, is yet another of the several brain-burrowers on Kittens… Granted, the lyrics you’ll catch yourself singing along with, “Wha-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-oh,” aren’t the most substantive in the song – nor are they NSFW, so there’s no worry there – but you will get to sing them often.

“Ur Wife” is a crunchy, catchy immorality tale, riffing with energy off a steady, juke joint bass line, that playfully utilizes Amanda’s vocal range, storytelling lyrical skills, and punk rock abandonment of social norms. A strong bet to be one of your favorite songs on the album, but probably not your wife’s favorite.

“Dark Art” is, as advertised, dark. Perhaps best described as a gothic progressive art rock track. Dark and brooding, it could easily be one of the extra songs in an extended-length remake of Phantom of the Opera.

photo by Kyle Schneider; photo courtesy of Amanda White

“Ruder” marks a return of the raucous kitten who cares not, and it leads into the closest thing you’ll find to a ballad on this album, “Someone’s Watching Over You.” The instrumentation at times hints at an uneasiness you might find in certain Rockwell and Sting tunes that shall go unnamed, but the melody is memorable, the vocals soar theatrically – the song is even a little Annie-ish if Annie were singing about punk or goth sunshine – and, in the end, this song is either comforting or disconcerting, depending on your mood at the time.

Next up is the catchiest, hookiest track on the disc – the obvious choice for a hit single – “Where the Hell is Amy?” An energetic raw, bar-crawl pop-rocker with a fun, naughty, trashy attitude, “Where the Hell is Amy?” is a party anthem for good times, spilled beer, and questionable decision-making.

“Adora” follows with a thick-as-molasses wall of heavy progressive rock sound that brings the rawk back. It’s a musical, emotional tour de force that brings the album nearly to its conclusion, followed by the equally heavy, progressive, thick “Fade.” Oh, but where “Adora” strikes a regretful, reminiscent tone, “Fade” skews far more ominous and dark. And yet, as prog as most of the song is, the chorus skews punk, tying the elements of Kittens… together nicely. This, I suppose, is the true magnum opus on the disc, clocking in at three seconds shy of eight minutes… and ending with the album’s final lyrics “Endlessly, endlessly die.” Well, that’s happy.

photo by Geoff Wilbur

Prog rock, rock opera, punk rock, some opera-style vocals and Broadway moments, all with a punk attitude, frequently with punk riffs, often with progressive arrangements. With her amazing voice, Amanda hits some big notes. There’s clear theatrical influence in some of the songs. Amanda knows how to write a hook… when she wants to. And she and her band have the chops to skew progressive more than a non-pure-prog band typically does. That’s why her sound is so unique – Kittens Give Zero Fucks is punk if you must categorize it, but if you chose the right two or three songs, you could convince a listener it’s a very odd prog rock album. So, whether punk is your go-to genre, or you’re a broad-based music fan who likes variety and enjoys talent wherever it lies, or if this is one of a handful of punk recordings – perhaps the only one – you dig because it’s a take on your progressive or operatic and theatrical musical tastes, Kittens… is unlike anything in your collection. You owe it to yourself to check it out.

Looking Ahead

Amanda doesn’t have any upcoming gigs scheduled, but keep an eye on the “Events” tab of her Facebook page for any future performances.