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Atomic Kitten are a pop band founded by OMD's Andy McCluskey in 1999. The girls' names are Liz McLarnon, Natasha Hamilton and Jenny Frost (who replaced the other founding member), but there's no need to really know them that all intimately. It's their collective chemistry and camaraderie that make them a band with twelve UK Number One hits, and it's a joy to see them interact. They smile a lot, they enjoy laughing, and they sure seem to like each other. In the "Kitty Diaries", one of the DVD's bonus behind-the-tour features, they give each other a handful of kisses, and we see them make goofy faces and ham it up for the camera. Preparing for a show, one of them goes through voice preparations with a breast-improvement ditty ("I must / I must / I must improve my bust"). We also see them wrestle, greet ravenous fans, and say that their shows were "absolutely wicked". Their life on the road is romantic and ideal -- good food and a sweet backing band that does their laundry -- and such fine treatment affects their performances.
Atomic Kitten carry on the tradition established by other British teen acts (like Showaddydaddy and the glam acts of the seventies) by peppering their act with covers. All are joyful, and lack any of the drama found in the originals. It's a good thing too; they play the Bangles' "Eternal Flame" like it's their "Lucky", and it's a delight. Their message to girls is not to give a damn about boys until they're well and ready, and they live it through their songs. If the Spice Girls preached Girl Power, Atomic Kitten live it by treating heartbreak songs as a lark. They're British superstars who are happy, and they wouldn't be superstars any other way.
Right Here, Right Now is not just a live performance by the band before a Belfast crowd. The live show is supposed to be the primary selling point, but the choreography is modest and the clothing choices all too affordable. Give a girl a Paul Frank t-shirt and a pair of sweats, and she too could dress like her favorite Atomic Kitten. That's part of the group's charm. Neither are their vocal talent, dance moves, or sense of style daunting; this triumvirate of modesty gives you hope that you, too, can make it big. Still, when they settle into a repetitive disco groove, they can't make up for a bad song with good visuals. You'll wish these Liverpool lasses dressed in Marni, Ghost, Matthew Williamson, Markus Lupfer, Luella Bartley -- anything but Adidas.
What's good about the show, though, is that the fans love them. You see the fans out in the stands, jumping up and down, singing along and doing their own choreographed moves. Their enthusiasm makes you wonder why Atomic Kitten have not made it big in America. Though the Bangles cover set me back a step, I certainly don't think it has anything to do with our good taste. Their pop is as pleasant as Pink's, and as disposable as Ms. Spears's, and the only significant difference seems to be their personalities. You'll actually like these girls. Plus, when they kiss each other, it's just because they're friends; that's much more lovely to see than gals using lesbianism as a popularity stunt. Also, it's refreshing to see an audience get off on fluffy melodies. If all audiences were as sold on this concept of pop, where passion matters as much as or more than raw talent, then The Like Young and Boys' Star Library would get their fair shakes, and labels like March and 555 would be household names.
Now, Atomic Kitten's live show does have its moments -- a rousing title track, a fun rendition of "Kids in America", and one nice costume change when they're all in white -- but it's a bigger blast getting to know the band backstage and through their videos. Of the two videos included, "It's OK" ("You're not here, and it's okay") captures their Girl Power on a very beautiful South African beach, and the girls appear a bit older, with bigger breasts. It's a great promo for the country, and the girls' hairdresser did a great job on this one too.
"The Tide is High", the other video, showcases the trio's talent for swaying. They're not exactly dancing, but they wiggle their hips nicely, and the pregnant Jenny is treated well by the cameras. Her tummy doesn't receive too much attention, a la Demi Moore in her Vanity Fair days, nor does she ask the camera to avoid it. She's just a pregnant girl, dancing and having fun. The song, as you might expect, does not hold much of a candle to the Blondie original, but the group's bubblegum interlude is charming, and it's not such a loss to hear a pop song zapped of longing and pathos. To simply be sexy and happy is often enough.
If you're not a fan of bubblegum pop, it's unlikely that you'll appreciate Atomic Kitten's music -- at least not as much as I did -- but I wouldn't want to meet folks who don't find something to their liking here. Like many indie rock acts, Atomic Kitten more than make up for their ordinary vocal abilities with passion, effort and unabashed joy. They're worth your support because they live the pop dream right. Singing makes them happy.
-- Theodore Defosse
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