They fought for the right to vote, they burned their bra's in the streets and now fast forward to the year 2001. We've got Davina McCall and Sarah Cox who's idea of feminism is to shout louder and drink more than the next bloke. Ultimately Kittie face the same problem in that they would much rather have that  macho male braggadocios rock & roll attitude of sex, drugs and rock & roll than actually play to their femine traits. Looking back to the mid 90s it seems that the only band who have actually got it right in modern times were Echobelly with their unique brand of politics, intelligence and sexual imagery.

"Oracle" moves us up a gear from the debut "Spit" although if we are perfectly honest Kittie were never about the music. They were always there to provide a bit of glamour in the male dominated rock field and with the sacking of bass player Fallon earlier in the year they're about as glamorous as the sleeper blokes of yesteryear. Its only on "Safe" when Kittie dare to bare their souls and show a trace of genius with a dark gothic piano ballad reminiscent of Muse colliding with Skunk Anansie. Elsewhere all the girls have to offer are clichés even down to the song titles ("Mouthful Of Poison", "Severed", "Wolves") taken wholesale from the dictionary of rock.

In the live arena Kittie really can compete with some of the top rock bands around but sadly "Oracle" is one of the most forgettable rock albums released in recent years. If this is supposed to be a step in the right direction then it can't be long before Kittie are culled from Sony's corporate ladder and replaced with something a bit more marketable. If your looking for female rock with attitude you can't go wrong with Sugacoma...Kittie with added vitamin C and a little sparkle.

Alex McCann