The Klittens

Though they’ve been together and kicking around EU indie spaces for years, this marks the debut from Amsterdam band The Klittens. A follow up to their excellent Citrus and Butter EPs, Have A Heart brings to a head the band’s alchemy of tension; a mix of ‘90s riot-adjacent hooks, 80s post-punk rhythms, and a lit match of activism. Even that sells the band short. Tying them to a tangle of influences reduces their deft hand at moving from serrated, raw moments to something indelibly indie at heart. The band burrows under the skin quickly with the percolating title track, a dip into Northwest ‘90s fare that feels like it’s chewing on the chaff of college rock’s rise to radio regulars over time. Though, the band never tips far from the brittle end of the bandwidth, always eyeing Kleenex and the Young Marbles in the corner even as they tear into Sleater-Kinney’s crown. The keep the wobble n’ wit on “Bank Account” and the seething latter-half gems “Badlands” and “Their House.”

Slower numbers unpeel their itchier moments, winding up the kind of quilted engine that drove Yo La Tengo. The band stretches out riffs with an unhurried gait on “Taxi” and “Triple Threat,” nodding towards the radiator hum of Electr-O-Pura. It’s already been a pretty banner year for vocalist Yaël Dekker, who’s delivered another charmer with The Hobknobs, but with The Klittens she finds a balance between her drive for stripped-bare elegance and a knotted warmth that’s dresses those bare bones with a woolen grace. The band’s long gestation pays off handily on Have A Heart, playing up the best moments of the early EPs and fettering out new directions that speak to their incredible chemistry. Miss this low-flying treasure at your own peril.

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