Clearly always destined for bigger things from the moment we first saw her perform 4 songs acoustically at the Bedford is Katie Kittermaster. She joked that night about maybe changing her name but the double "K" logo is very effective branding and since then she's done major tours of the UK, even playing on a bill with the Kaiser Chiefs and we know from personal feedback the she excelled on that day.
Her star has risen so far that her next London show will be a sold out show at 229 and it is easy to see why. Her lyrics are very direct, honest and personal, undoubtedly resonate with her fan base. Her style of delivery with a mixture of spoken word, sometimes emphasised by repeating words as you might do in conversation, blended with a delightful singing voice make a great combination.
There are many songs that address being cheated on, yet few that spring to mind address with such openness the prospect of just falling out of love with somebody.
"Lately I feel like we've run out of things to say
Took us 3 years to the day to realise
That you're not really my type
And I'm not who I used to be"
All of this early drama is played out over just a piano later supplemented by a pulsing drum beat
The chorus is brutally honest yet delivered with no malice and sees Katie sing the first two lines over relatively little backing before the more full on pop production kicks in.
"We fell out of love a long time ago - you know as well as I do that
We fell out of love but were scared of letting go"
There's a wise head on young shoulders and never are truer words sung than when when she sings the lines
We say "we'll stay in touch" but baby we don't mean it
We'll both be better off if we leave it"
There is really no coming back from this and there is one line that hints at the reason behind taking so long in coming to this inevitable conclusion
"Baby I was scared of being lonely" with Katie's vocal lingering on the last word.
It all goes to make a classy slick little pop number that has some real bite beneath its glossy exterior.
If I was to express one slight misgiving it would be whether the overall sound is sympathetic enough to the lyrics being expressed, there are hints of what sounds like the bare bones of the original song in the background, with the piano and acoustic guitar. Maybe it is just that we see Katie's future as being more of a singer songwriter rather than a pop diva - who knows? she'll probably go on to be both and more!