Sandman's last 'Night' of 'Spitting' up KittiesMorphine The Night Dreamworks Before Morphine songwriter/ frontman Marc Sandman died on-stage last July, he left many things unsaid. That's probably what made him so great, the ability to create and layer songs, then take out pieces that didn't need to be said. He was a master of minimalism and a creative genius left unscathed by the modern music market. With The Night, he strides in similar fashion, but (as in the past) carves his own path. After trying to record in a traditional studio, Sandman decided to switch locations to his home studio (Hi-N-Dry) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The relaxed environment led him to more experimentation in arrangement, instrumentation and musicians. In the last two years of his life he added ingredients to his cauldron with saxophonist Dana Colley and drummer Billy Conway. The title song, compares a woman (Lilah) to the night in a way only Sandman could pull off, "I hope you're waiting for me/ Across your carpet of stars/ You're the night, Lilah/ You're everything that we can't see/ Lilah, you're the possibility." He also goes on to say, "You're a bedtime story/ The one that keeps the curtains closed." Sandman recruited friend John Medeski (of Medeski, Martin & Wood) as a guest, who added virtuoso organ work to the trancy psycho-melodic "I'm Yours, You're Mine" and the horn driven "Top Floor, Bottom Buzzer." "Top Floor, Bottom Buzzer" reminisces an older Morphine, driven by catchy horns with Sandman's soft lethargic vocals added over Medeski's Hammond. On "Slow Numbers" Dana Colley's baritone saxophone starts by striking a sound reminiscent of Coltrane, while the band comes in with such a laid back groove, it almost feels like it could drag you to the ground. Sandman goes on comparing numbers to people, then shows the insignificance to so many numbers in our culture. Brahim Fribgane added his oud (an East-Indian string instrument) to "Rope on Fire" giving the track a middle-eastern tinge. But again, the folkish guitar style of "Take Me With You," almost sounds like an old blues recording mixed with Colley's baritone sax. Over all, expect what you have in the past from Morphine - moody, organic grooves that bring you to the bottom of the lethargic barrel, but at the same time leaves you humming the melodies and pondering music, life and ironically death. - Review by Dan Marek Kittie Spit Artemis The teenage babes of Canada's Kittie are going to scratch their claws into the darkest center of your heart with their debut album, Spit. Don't let the quartet's baby-dominatrix image trick you. These dirty grrrls from Ontario cement their dense, stomping riffs with rebellious, shrill vocals and snickering bass lines, all while dolled up in leopard-skin fur stilettos and baby bondage gear. Singer Morgan Lander's voice gives you a dose of metal that will leave you delirious with cat scratch fever. Fallon Bowman plays her guitar as any death metalist would. The whole album redefines your notions of "girl power." The lyrics aren't sugarcoated, they are full doses of brutal reality. With intense songs like "Spit" and "Suck," how can you go wrong? The lyrics are deeper than their titles suggest. "Choke" was written as an emotional response to betrayal. "Brackish" opts for a more frantic pace, with a techno back beat and guitars playing as background for a spoken word delivery that unravels into passionate vocal blasts. As singer Morgan has said, "We're girls playing in a guys business..." Kittie will make it with their intense and fresh approach to music. They're the band that your kid sister may grow to love when she escapes that Backstreet Boys phase. Kittie doesn't just purr...it roars! If you are into L7, Coal Chamber or the Babes in Toyland this is a band for you. You can experience Kittie live in Tucson on February 16 or at Club Rio February 22. ­ Review by Erika Miller, -The Blaze 1260 AM You can check out the sounds of Kittie at 1260 on your AM dial on ASU's student- run radio station. home