Kittyhawk – Hello, Again

Chicago emo quartet Kittyhawk play a soothing brand of indie-pop matching that of the pastel coloured font on the cover of their latest full length, Hello, Again.  Those looking for a skyward guide to take flight and veer them away from the hustle and bustle of modern living will easily fall for the soft spoken combo of Kate Grube and Mark Jaeschke.  Complete with somber keyboard and wistful guitar, the band lands somewhere within the realm of Deathcab For Cutie and Tega & Sara.  The album makes for a soothing, dreamy listen naturally befitting their place on the Count Your Lucky Stars Records roster.

Grube shoulders the vast bulk of the vocal weight, washing each track over with her borderline cute demeanor.  Sounding far more developed than contemporaries Murial Loveland (Candy Hearts) or Sheena Ozella (Lemuria), Grube sings from a place of maturity with the charming strength of age.  Her not-quite-smokey delivery translates into catchy tunes like “Seasonal Abjective Disorder” and “Sunny Day Renter’s Insurance,” which when paired with strong guitar-driven choruses, translates into a fixating combination.  Throw in a few recurring keyboard notes as per “Jude II” and the band’s pop tendencies really shine through without stealing the show.  

On the flipside, Kittyhawk’s morose reserve ensures that the album remains grounded in reality.  This is no indie-pop party album by any means, but rather a soundtrack for life’s solemn reflective moments.  Tracks like “Vaudeville” and “Self V. Former Self” even briefly enter a shoegaze haze that further leaves listeners to contemplate their thoughts.

Hello, Again is an album that doesn’t shine as much as it does glow.  Kittyhawk emits  warmth from every note – each song is individually distinct but collectively coherent.  In this regard, the disc’s sole weakness of perhaps playing its cards too close to its chest becomes less noticeable and more forgivable.  But when it comes right down to it, Hello, Again offers fans of light hearted indie-pop plenty to wholeheartedly embrace.