The Klittens

A concert in Leeds by The Klittens, a five-piece whose pop songs carry dark themes and a punk outlook, staged at Wharf Chambers. The band is presenting material from its debut album.

The Klittens combine a fondness for pop with darker subject matter and a punk ethos. Their stated influences include The Ronettes, MF Doom, Dry Cleaning and Kate Bush. The band began as a creative and political outlet and has grown into a long-term project for its members, who handle songwriting, releasing music and tour management themselves.

The line-up is Yaël Dekker on vocals, Winnie Conradi and Katja Kahana on guitars, Marrit Meinema on bass and Laurie Zantinge on drums. Their debut album, Have A Heart, is self-released and runs to ten tracks, each telling its own instrumental and lyrical story. The record draws on country, pop and (post-)punk, built on four instruments and five vocals, and it centres on feelings of powerlessness and the different ways people respond to them, whether through resistance or surrender.

The concert takes place at Wharf Chambers, a Leeds venue that hosts concerts and shows. The evening suits anyone curious about a DIY band whose songwriting moves between pop, punk and country, and who wants to hear the new album performed by the people who made it.