Spit (album)

Kittie were formed in September 1996 in London, Ontario, by drummer Mercedes Lander and guitarist Fallon Bowman, who met in a gymnastics class. They bonded over their shared interest in grunge artists such as Nirvana and Silverchair and started jamming together after realizing they both played instruments. Mercedes' sister Morgan joined as their guitarist and vocalist four or five months later. The trio started out playing covers of Nirvana, Silverchair, Deftones, and Korn before attempting to write their own material; "Brackish" was the first song they wrote together. Morgan, Mercedes, and Bowman wrote the songs on Spit over the course of a year and a half, The band wrote the music for the songs first as a "backdrop" to their vocals, which would be handled by whoever wrote its lyrics. Kittie played their first show at a Battle of the Bands competition at Call the Office on February 28, 1998. The band's second performance, at a high school talent show, was cut short by a female principal who did not believe women should be playing music of their style. Producer Garth Richardson was sent one of the band's demos and agreed to record their debut album for a minimum fee. In March 1999, Kittie performed at the Canadian Music Week festival in Toronto. Morgan said that the band had most of their songs ready by this point and were to record Spit with Richardson after the festival, which they planned to release themselves. Kittie received several record label offers from their Canadian Music Week performance, and ultimately signed with Ng Records, an independent label operating out of New York. Although Ng had previously rejected the band's demos, as they did not want to be told what to do by the label whilst working on the album. == Recording ==

Kittie recorded Spit with Richardson over nine days at EMAC in May 1999, alongside an array of equipment and amplifiers the band spent a day experimenting with. They used ESP and Squier guitars, a homemade guitar by Richardson, and Morgan's custom Gibson Flying V, which had all three of its humbuckers turned on for a "huge, meaty sound". In place of effects pedals, guitar distortion was produced using a combination of Orange, Marshall, and Soldano amplifiers. Bowman only used one pedal on the entire album, an Ibanez Classic Phase. Due to short recording window, Mercedes' drums were mostly recorded in one take, Morgan's vocals were not double-tracked, Morgan played bass on three songs, including "Raven" and "Immortal". Most of Spit songs remained unchanged from when they were first written. Morgan wrote the song's chorus in the studio's vocal booth a week later, and the band recorded it the next day. Spit was then mixed by Chris Shaw at Soundtrack and EMAC (except "Paperdoll", by Matt Chiaravalle), and mastered by Howie Weinberg at Masterdisk. The album was completed in August 1999. == Composition ==

Spit has primarily been described as a nu metal album. Rolling Stone described the album as blending thrash metal, grunge, death metal, and alternative rock; other journalists described it as grindcore, hard rock, heavy basslines, stop-start structures, melodic sensibilities, and manic percussion driven by double kick drums and cymbals. screamed, alongside Björk, abuse, self-image, self-esteem, conformity, and betrayal. They express feelings of anger, fear, and detail events involving close friends or herself; she considered their perspective to be more "localized" compared to Kittie's later output. Bowman described the songs as summarizing its members' life experiences. Morgan said that although Kittie's members had relatively normal upbringings, they wanted to explore the flaws of society and their environment in an honest manner. Kittie's image and lyrical content led to the band being described as feminists or riot grrrls, neither of which they identified as. Morgan said Kittie emphasized a "theme" of equality though did not discuss it in their songs, and that their music was for "human beings" than persons of a particular gender. In a 2021 interview with Metal Hammer, Morgan said Kittie's beliefs in equality aligned with feminism, but that they did not understand it well at the time and were afraid of being associated with its misconceptions. == Songs ==

Spit opening title track was written in reaction to the attitude of local bands towards Kittie, were described by journalist Mark Beaumont as "[telling] the story of a woman who ends up with her boyfriend's head in her closet". "Suck" and "Do You Think I'm a Whore?" are "angst-ridden" tracks featuring abrasive vocals and guitars, repetitive basslines and staccato drums. The latter deals with self-image and judgement by others for the way women dress. Morgan said the song's title was given "basically to prove people wrong", and its chorus features vocal interplay between Morgan and Bowman. "Jonny" is about realizing nobody is perfect, including one's role models. Chuck Campbell of the Knoxville News Sentinel called the song a "metallic maelstrom" and highlighted its "coquettish" refrain. "Trippin'" is an intense track "Get Off (You Can Eat a Dick)" was written about Kittie's second show, and was titled after remarks for the band to "get off". The song opens with Morgan moaning over pounded guitars before screaming its title lyric over Mercedes' drums. Arion Berger of Rolling Stone likened the song musically to 1970s hard rock with its "satanic churn". Spit ends with the gothic instrumental track "Immortal", which Jason Pettigrew of Alternative Press called "forboding". The song was supposed to have lyrics, but were scrapped and forgotten; its original opening line was "The eyes of the victim". == Release and promotion ==

appears on the cover of Spit, and performs bass on the re-recording of "Paperdoll".Kittie began touring in support of Spit in July 1999, when they performed at the Milwaukee Metalfest. In August, the band embarked on their first tour of the United States with Skinlab and Pissing Razors. Morgan said the tour was intended to test how well Kittie handled touring, and said they enjoyed it. After performing at the Big Day Off in Hartford, Connecticut in September 1999, Candler left Kittie, citing discomfort with the band's growing popularity and personal issues. Talena Atfield, a friend of Mercedes' who had attended a number of Kittie's early shows, was recruited as Candler's replacement; despite having never played bass prior to joining Kittie, she learnt all of Spit songs within one week. Following a warm-up show, the band performed at the CMJ Music Festival in New York City, where a live music video was film for Spit lead single, "Brackish". Artemis also set up an internet and print marketing campaign with the online music service MyPlay.com, through which users were offered a free download of "Brackish" and "Choke". Spit was released through Ng/Artemis on January 11, 2000; Sony Music handled its distribution outside of the United States. By the time of its release, Kittie had been featured in numerous magazines The members of Kittie left high school prior to the tour, In February, the band toured the United States with Sevendust. Kittie filmed an appearance on the talk show Later around this time; they were subsequently invited to perform on ''Late Night With Conan O'Brien, where they made their debut late night television appearance on February 23, 2000, performing "Brackish". The band then toured the United Kingdom supporting Slipknot on their debut tour of the country, before embarking on a headlining American tour with Chevelle, Shuvel, and the Step Kings from April 27 to May 28. "Charlotte" was released as the second single from Spit on June 5, 2000. Its music video, filmed with director Lisa Rubish in early May 2000, On July 11, 2000, Kittie released the home video Spit in Your Eye'', The band were the only all-female act on that year's Ozzfest bill, and second overall to play at the festival after Drain STH. According to Mercedes, Kittie were asked to begin recording a new album after Ozzfest but refused as they didn't feel it was time to stop touring then. From September 5 to 16, 2000, Kittie embarked on its first tour of Canada, supported by Disturbed. After a planned tour supporting Pantera was cancelled due to vocalist Phil Anselmo falling and breaking two ribs, Kittie formed a headlining tour with Mudvayne, Apartment 26, and Factory 81 that ran from November 18 to December 1, 2000. On December 12, 2000, the band released the Paperdoll EP, featuring a remix of "Paperdoll" and some live tracks recorded at the Hultsfred Festival in Sweden in June. Following the SnoCore Rock Tour in January and February 2001, Kittie began working on their next album. == Critical reception ==

Spit received generally mixed to favorable reviews. Darren Sadler of Metal Hammer said Kittie were a competent albeit unmemorable band, but nevertheless considered Spit "a promising debut". Spit lyrics and Morgan's vocals were met with mixed responses. Reno Gazette-Journal reviewer Mark Earnest considered Spit the work of a "great basic hard-rock band", though he found "juvenile" lyrics and "typical metal growling" occasionally brought the album down. Fissure found the lyrics both juvenile and unintentionally funny. Alexander took issue with "Do You Think I'm a Whore?" and "Jonny" for their adherence to "aggro-rock clichés", referring to the former's "rhetoric" and the latter's chorus. Potter felt Morgan sounded unconfident when attempting more conventional vocal styles outside of screaming; Roman Sokal of Exclaim! accused the band of being calculated with its focus on "shock novelty", Oliver of Metal.de was disappointed by people paying more attention to Kittie's looks than their music, which he felt was "easily in the top leagues". and was ranked number 23 on Spin "30 Best Nu Metal Songs" list in 2017. In the early 2020s, Spit was listed as one of the greatest nu metal albums of all time by Kerrang!, Loudwire, Metal Hammer, and Revolver. In 2023, Rolling Stone listed the album's title track as the 82nd greatest heavy metal song of all time. == Commercial performance == Assisted by built-up demand from the MyPlay promotion, Spit debuted on the US Billboard 200 chart at number 147 on January 29, 2000, with first week sales of 8,800 copies. "Brackish" and "Charlotte" respectively charted at numbers 31 and 35 on the Billboard Active Rock Tracks chart. Outside the United States, Spit had sold 100,000 copies in Europe by February 2001. "Brackish" and "Charlotte" both charted on the UK Singles Chart, at numbers 46 and 60, respectively. Spit was less successful in Canada, where 40,000 copies had been sold by April 2003. The album's lack of success in Canada was attributed to a lack of radio support—although Kittie's music videos were aired on MuchMusic—and the band's lack of a touring base, having only embarked on its first tour of its Canada towards the end of 2000. Ben Rayner of the Toronto Star believed Spit earlier release in the United States and Europe compared to Canada was a "double-edged sword" and led to Kittie being rejected in the country, whilst Morgan felt the band were "shunned" by Canadian journalists for being "younger women playing rock music". == Aftermath ==

Much of the contemporary media attention surrounding Spit focused on the ages of Kittie's members and their status as an all-female band playing heavy metal, often at the expense of discussion of their music. Kittie had not expected their all-female status to be controversial and insisted on being referred to as just a band instead of being categorized by gender. and later claimed Artemis revealed its members' ages to the press against their wishes. In a 2012 interview with Canada Arts Connect, Morgan said that Kittie had "received more praise and criticism for [Spit] than we have over the duration of our entire careers" and that, despite the growth she felt the band made thereafter, continued to be perceived based on the album and struggled to be taken seriously by the heavy metal community. Upon the release of Kittie's seventh album Fire (2024)—by which point interest in the band had been renewed by the early 2020s nu metal revival—Morgan said in an interview with Revolver that she was more accepting of Spit though also hoped the renewed attention would lead people to listen to their other albums, which she felt were talked about less as they weren't "piggybacking on the early 2000 nu-metal hype". Kittie's later albums abandoned the nu metal style of Spit in favour of a more direct heavy metal style. though Morgan said they avoided doing so for a time to show people "who we are now and what we have accomplished since then". In March 2012, Kittie hinted at the possibility of their original lineup reuniting to perform Spit in its entirety for a few shows. On October 27, 2017, the original Kittie lineup reunited to perform "Brackish", "Charlotte", "Choke", and "Paperdoll" as part of an anniversary concert at the premiere of the band's Kittie: Origins/Evolutions documentary at Rum Runners in London, Ontario. The concert marked the first time the former two songs had been performed live since 2008; "Choke" had not been performed since 2001, and "Paperdoll" since 2002. The Spit line-up reunited again in January 2022 for an online chat in celebration of the 22nd anniversary of its release. In April 2022, the album was reissued on vinyl for the first time. In 2023, Kittie performed "Do You Think I'm a Whore?" for the first time since 2003 at the Sick New World festival. The day after, the band are due to perform a set celebrating Spit 25th anniversary at the Louder than Life festival. == Track listing ==

All songs are written by Morgan Lander, Mercedes Lander, and Fallon Bowman (SOCAN), and credited to Kittie. • The lyrics of "Choke" were written by Fallon Bowman. • The lyrics of "Paperdoll" were written by Tanya Candler; Candler sings on the original version of the song, which was re-recorded prior to Spit official release. == Personnel ==

Adapted from liner notes.Kittie • Morgan Lander – lead vocals, guitar, bass on "Raven" and "Immortal" • Fallon Bowman – guitar, backing vocals on "Brackish", lead vocals on "Choke" • Tanya Candler – bass, lead vocals on "Paperdoll" (original) • Mercedes Lander – drums • Talena Atfield – bass on "Paperdoll" (re-recording) Additional musicians • DJ Dave – loops and beats on "Brackish" Artwork • Larry Busacca – photography • Nicky Guilfoil – live shot • Michael McLaughlin – photography • Brandy Stephen – paintings • Kitten – artwork Production • Garth Richardson – engineer, producer • Rob Nation – engineer • Chris Shaw – mixing (at Soundtrack & EMAC) • Matt Chiaravalle – editing on "Brackish", recording, mixing on "Paperdoll" • Andrew Grimo – production assistant • Ben Kaplan – production assistant • Howie Weinberg – mastering (at Masterdisk) == Charts ==

Weekly charts Year-end charts == Certifications ==