Blaqk Audio- Stiff Kittens EP

ARTIST: Blaqk Audio

ALBUM: Stiff Kittens (single)

LABEL: Interscope Records

REVIEWER: Matthew Johnson

DATE: 7-9-07

Blaqk Audio is the new side project from AFI's Jade Puget and Davey Havok, and at first listen, there's not much common ground between the two projects. Blaqk Audio's first single has none of the driving, moody punk guitars, just a pulsing drum machine and a buzzing synth line. A minute in, though, and you realize that "Stiff Kittens" has all the qualities AFI fans have come to love; it's just been created with a totally different set of sounds. Soaring vocal harmonies, melodramatic lyrics, and richly layered production...it's all here. Switch the piano and keyboard lines out for guitar, and you'd have an AFI single, proving that no matter what sort of equipment Havok and Puget pick up, it's the songwriting that counts. Of course, using nothing but electronic instruments does make one change: it makes things that much easier for remix artists. Goth and industrial fans will of course be drawn to the Assemblage 23 mix, featuring Tom Shear's signature moody trance lines, while the Jnrsnchz "Blaqkout Remix" is more of a straight dance number, chopping up the vocals and sprinkling them over a squelching bass line, Daft Punk style. Morel's "Pink Noise" mix is pure club candy as well, turning the song into a hypnotic house throb. Though an original B-side or two would've been a nice touch, there's more than enough on this single to keep club DJs happy and AFI fans clamoring for more.

Visit Blaqk Audio at www.blaqkaudio.com/ for streaming videos and the latest news from the band.