KITTIE

When KITTIE mainstay and vocalist/guitarist Morgan Lander unleashes that burly scream of "You're ugly…just like me! Bring me down!" during "Ugly" on new album "I've Failed You", you'll damn sure believe it. The aggression is real. So is the passion for making the heavy music to which she's been dedicated for well over a decade. The Canadian quartet's sixth release won't irreversibly alter the face of metal, but it'll leave some nasty cuts and scratches from those permanently sharp claws.

"Nu," old, or otherwise, KITTIE brings to the 2011 table an album in "I've Failed You" filled with mid-tempo bruisers and hard groovers wrapped up in a tight production package that comes with a thick, biting guitar tone, fat bass lines, and crisp production from Siegfried "Siggy" Meier. A few cuts in particular — the title track, "Empires (Part 2)", and "We are the Lamb" — are downright visceral and lyrically vitriolic. They're also easily digested and make an immediate impact. Devoid of conventional melodies and light shades "I've Failed You" is not, as songs like "Whispers of Death", as well as the aforementioned "Empires (Part 2)", also feature Lander's mid-range melodic vocal side, though she'll never be mistaken for a songbird. The job gets done regardless.

The KITTIE collective does well to mix things up just enough on "I've Failed You" and temper the face-reddening moments with elements of a more soothing nature, as well as maintaining more than semblance of tuneful sensibility. Usually it works pretty well. As it turns out, it is during the album's mellowest moments — the modern/alternative rock of "Time Never Heals" and the kinder, gentler "Never Come Home" — that a flirtation with the generic becomes an issue, though not an overly serious one. If nothing else, "I've Failed You" is proof of KITTIE's staying power and their ability to make music that packs a heck of a punch.