Third Man Records’ Blue Basement simulates what it would be like if you crossed a TED-talk stage with a laserquest. There’s a big yellow Smeg fridge with the word Literarium printed on it that spits out coffee-table paperbacks if you slot magic tokens near a hole labelled: ‘Try a Lucky Dip!’. It’s compact but mercifully cool down there, as a sizable crowd starts to gather for songwriter: Kitty Fitz’s moment under the electric blue lights.
Kitty by her own account has spent a majority of her career on the sidelines, laughing onstage of her previous life as ‘just a bassist’. But after a score of fresh, sometimes heartbreaking releases, including an EP last year with ‘All My Own Stunts’ and her latest single ‘Laughing Stock’, it’s clear that just being a bassist was never enough.
There’s a positive energy in Kitty’s presence and, as her full band starts with some of her earlier songs, everyone is immediately smiling. It’s an easy-going indie sound, and in a lot of instances, especially during her song Malibu’ there’s a very sincere tone to Kitty Fitz’s emotional vulnerability. Her open-hearted lyrical style isn’t melodramatic or obtuse, but poetically frank. It’s love-and-breakups but told through her very specific lens and it’s hard to point out just one aspect that works well.
Sonically, there’s a more varied approach to a lot of the songs that span from a synthwave feel on some tracks, to a weighty grunge-adjacent sound on others. She builds up on a lot of her earlier songs too, including her debut ‘Split Ends’, which brings the featherlight energy of the recording with the more folk-rock centric vibe of her live band. Again, it’s catchy and feel-good songwriting with Kitty’s gentle voice sounding great through the Blue Basement’s soundsystem.
“My friend who I wrote this about is here tonight, she won’t mind me pointing her out because she’s a Leo”.
Her set is very conversational, and the crowd is hanging off her every word.
Kitty’s latest release is a week old by the time of this set, it’s a new single entitled: ‘Laughing Stock’. It’s a song that illustrates her more pop-centric sensibility, with a laidback sound that’s radio-friendly without being uninspired. The live version plays on the more glittering synth aspects of the recording, with these beautiful melodic fills that brighten the chugging rhythm of the drums and bass. Lyrically, it’s as self-deprecating as her songs get, but again there’s a keenness in the way she speaks of feeling distantly unlovable that isn’t cartoonish or disingenuous.
It’s hard-hitting, peak sad bedroom-pop indie that is self-aware without dismissing the songwriter’s own emotionality. All while being a catchy, very sing-along-worthy track with a lot of charm and character.
And then, Weezer cover. ‘Buddy Holly’ fills the basement, and yes the guitarist did nail that riff in the bridge.
Kitty’s set ends on her headliner track: ‘I Want Your Love (Oh My God!)’, a song that is already a crowd favourite for it’s upbeat almost camp-y chorus. It’s got real song of the summer potential, and chances are that if you haven’t heard any of her music yet, it’s the song that will stay in your head for the longest.
Feature image by Jody Evans
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